


Family Outings

by Sarah Problem (SarahProblem)



Series: Come With Me [14]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Birthday, Camping, Complete, Family Bonding, Family Drama, Kidnapping, M/M, Married Couple, Pets, Vacation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-19
Updated: 2018-03-19
Packaged: 2019-04-04 16:36:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 27,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14024289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SarahProblem/pseuds/Sarah%20Problem
Summary: With Jim's twenty-ninth birthday just days away, and a few rough months behind them, Jim and Bones make it to Deneva for a much needed vacation. When things go terribly wrong, the whole Kirk-McCoy family pulls together to recover what they've lost.





	Family Outings

Family Outings

by Sarah Problem

 

 

 

 

Jim Kirk stepped out of their tent, straighten and stretched in the early morning Denevan sunshine. He smiled as he looked around the small camp, taking in the view around the two tents and shuttle. The day was going to be warm and beautiful, like so many were on Deneva during its summer season. Across from the camp, meters away and hip deep in the wild grass that ringed the site for kilometers, Aurelan and Bones were talking animatedly, with smiles and laughter. The door to the office shuttle parked between the two tents was open, and he could hear Sam and Peter talking as well as smell bacon and pancakes for breakfast. Robby made a squealing, happy noise from inside. Jet barked excitedly, probably hoping for a treat.

They had all arrived very late the night before. Aurelan and Sam had had a busy day of packing all the camping equipment, then had picked Jim and Bones up from the shuttle terminal. Jim and Bones's late-night arrival had been the result of their own long day of seeing the Enterprise off on its two-week mission with Acting Captain Spock, and then a four-hour, cramped shuttle ride from Starbase 10 to Deneva. Once they'd landed at the terminal, Sam had picked them up in Aurelan's rented office shuttle. Then they had flown everyone off to the Corcajien marsh, thousands of miles from civilization. The three-hour shuttle trip from the terminal to the campsite had given them all plenty of time to talk and do a quick 'catch up' of news.

By the time they'd set down at the campsite, they were all too worn out to do anything but set up the tents, grab a quick meal, use the 'fresher, and hit their sleeping bags.

_Finally! Our first full day of vacation! This was such a great idea, coming along with Aurelan on her area survey. I knew she couldn't really postpone it, and our vacation plans were made awful fast. We didn't really give them much notice. But letting us all come along and enjoy the scenery while she works is so much better than visiting with Sam and Peter without her._

_Three days out here is going to be great. And it was really nice of John to volunteer to hold my birthday party at his new apartment building when we get back. We'll get to see the place before he gets it all fixed up for new tenants. I know he's dying to show us around it. I guess it makes sense that he'd want to live in Proctor full time and be around a lot of people. And he's got the money to invest in land, so why not a whole building of people he can interact with? And David and Holly will be there too. Can't wait to see David again. Especially since John says David's met someone he really likes._

_We'll all have to figure out how to give David a bad time about that._

With the Enterprise on some short milk-runs to start off the new year, Acting Captain Spock, First Officer Sulu and CMO M'Benga, should have no problems while he and Bones were gone. The three were well qualified to serve in those stations and it was about time it showed on their records. Admiral Roberts had seemed to read between the lines of Jim's report on the Symmetrillion incident, especially during those painful parts where Jim had to report dispassionately about Bones's perceived death. The Admiral had worked with him rather than against him in getting both him and Bones some time off as soon as she could. Now, just four days shy of his birthday, Jim was going to get to spend it with most of his family.

Aurelan, one of the top xeno-ornithologist on Deneva, specialized in Terran birds. She needed to survey, catalog and inventory the nests of some of the new Terran transplants in this area. Now, getting a good look at the area in daylight, Jim was stunned.

The mountains in the distance only accentuated the beauty of the area around them. Here and there, between the mountains and the ocean only two kilometers away, were groups of tall mesas jutting up into the sky. Ringed in the coppers and tans of the rocky sub-structure, some stories tall and acres in diameter, were crowned with green trees and grasses. Around the mesas was a grassy marsh, where an ancient ocean had worn the softer rock away. The tall, green grasses moved in the breeze like a wild tide, making the rocks look as if they were strange islands in a green sea. Being a protected Wildlife Refuge, there was probably no one around them for hundreds of kilometers.

_It's gorgeous. Deneva has the right idea. Save as much of nature as they can. Since most of their trading credits come from being the biggest freight-line hub in this sector, they can leave the planet be. No mining, drilling, manufacturing, or population spread over a pre-set percentage of the surface and a controlled tourist industry. They can afford to invest in its wildlife and their goal of transplanting as much of Earth's wild flora and fauna here as they can. Heaven only knows the loss of Vulcan's whole ecosystem has taught us all to spread out a bit. And it's only helping Earth's conservation efforts._

_Deneva's reputation of being second only to Risa in beauty is well deserved. I just hope they stay on course with their goals. I'd hate to see all their hard work endangered, as well as the animal populations they're trying to save._

Deciding he'd better get some breakfast before it was put away, Jim grabbed his 'fresher kit, some clean clothes and walked to the mobile office. While on her survey assignments, Aurelan was allowed the rental of an office shuttle that included a tiny bathroom, shower, kitchen and eating bar, as well as room for some desks. In this case, she'd arranged one computer desk to work on, a couch, some comfortable chairs, and a playpen for Robby. Inside, Jim found Sam fixing Peter his breakfast. Robby was sitting in the playpen and Jet was on the couch, watching the baby play.

"Hey, Uncle Jim!" Peter said around a mouthful of food.

"Peter," Sam said with a laugh. "Don't talk with your mouth full. I'm sure Uncle Jim doesn't want to see what you're eating."

Peter shrugged and covered his mouth. "Sorry!"

"S'okay, kid," Jim said with a laugh. "Wouldn't be the worst thing I've ever seen. Just the second worst."

Peter giggled, turning back to his plate.

"Want some breakfast when you're done?" Sam asked, pointing to the mass of pancake batter he still had.

"Love some! Be out in a bit."

Jim didn't take long in the 'fresher. Seeing that Sam was still busy cooking, Jim tossed yesterday's clothing in the cleaner while on his way to Robby's playpen.

"So, how'd you sleep last night?" Sam asked.

"Oh, great!" Jim said happily. "I _love_ camping. Slept like a log."

"Logs don't sleep!" Peter said with a smile.

"They don't? Well, something must be terribly wrong with me, then. Guess I'll have to have Uncle Len take a look at me," Jim said, leaning over the playpen rail to smile at Robby.

At ten months he was already sitting and crawling. Dressed in a onesie, his strawberry blond hair stood up in static wisps. He looked up from his toy at Jim, his dark-blue eyes uncertain and a little wary as he scanned Jim's face. Jim had tried holding him last night, but Robby wasn't having it. Bones didn't have any luck either.

_I can't believe how big he's gotten! Seems like only yesterday he was just a few weeks old. He's going to look just like Sam, except for the red in his hair._

"Hey, Robby. Remember me yet? Uncle Jim!" Jim said softly, smiling as he leaned over to pick up a toy. He squeezed it and held it out to Robby. Robby just stared at him, looking doubtful. "Don't be shy! I've given you a bottle and changed your diaper. I've already seen what happens at both ends and am back for more."

Jet, Peter's six-month-old puppy had no problem with shyness. The lanky black dog with the upstanding ears and paws too big for his size jumped down from the couch and rolled on his back, begging for attention. Jim reached down and rubbed Jet's stomach as he wagged his tail happily, making his body roll back and forth across the carpet. Robby watched, still looking unconvinced.

"See, Robby? Jet likes me."

"Jet likes _everyone_!" Peter said. "But especially his sister, Holly. He and Holly doggie fight when David brings her over, but it's just kinda wrestling. He hasn't met John's kittens yet, though. John says I can play with them when we come over for your birthday party."

"Looking forward to it," Jim said happily. "Seems like the family gets bigger every time I come to visit. I love it."

Robby looked from Jet to Jim. He frowned a little.

"He'll come around," Sam said with a chuckle. He put a plate on the counter. "Here's yours, Jim. The rest of us have already eaten. Enjoy it, because Len volunteered you both for dinner duty. Cold cuts for lunch."

"Damn, and there I forgot to bring my recipe book," Jim said with a laugh. He came up to the small counter and took his silverware and plate from Sam. "We'll have to inventory the pantry. I have no clue what we've got to work with."

"Whatever is edible," Sam said with a shrug. "We don't tend to be picky."

Jim started on his breakfast while Sam got himself coffee.

"Uncle Jim?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you _really_ win the white stripe in your hair from a race?" Peter asked him with wide eyes. "Uncle Len said it was a _racing_ stripe."

Jim laughed around a bite. "Wish I had, kid. But it's really there so I can hide any gray hair I get from now on. Nobody'll see it in all that."

"I have a feeling there's a story there," Sam said over his coffee, watching Jim closely.

"I'm not little anymore, so I can hear it, right?" Peter asked hopefully. "Is it scary?"

"Maybe I'll save it for you when you're older," Jim said with a quick smile. "If I tell you all my stories at once, then you'll get bored with me."

"Never!" Peter laughed. "Dad? Can Jet and I go outside and play? Mom's not really working yet, so Jet and I won't be scaring her birds away."

"Just let me check Jet's collar," Sam said going over to the puppy. "I've set the sonic fence up, Peter. Don't tease Jet and go past the fence, where he can't go."

"But, Daaad!" Peter said with frustration. "Mom said we could go and explore!"

"We all can, _later_ ," Sam promised him. "But you and Jet can play ball in all that tall grass behind the office. There's more than enough room for that. And take the waste bag with you. If he has to go—-"

"I know," Peter said, rolling his eyes as he got off his stool, "I have to pick it up and throw it in the recycler. We have to take out what we bring in."

"Always good advice, for _any_ planet," Jim told Peter with a smile. "I'm sure Jet appreciates you taking such good care of him."

Peter grabbed a few dog toys and called Jet, who followed him happily out the door. Sam went over to pick up Robby, who had crawled to the side of the playpen, pulled himself up, and started to fuss. Jim sat on the couch and watched.

"Someone needs a change," Sam said, collapsing the side of the playpen and lying Robby back down. He pulled out a diaper and wipes from a bag next to the playpen and started to change Robby's diaper. Sam looked back up at Jim for a moment and asked softly, "Jim? Are you and Len okay?"

Jim blinked in confusion. "Okay? Yeah, we're great. Why?"

"You've been… different," Sam said with a sigh as he cleaned his son. "When you called us at Christmas, you both acted funny. A bit stiff. Like you were trying too hard to relax and pretend things were okay. And you…"

"What?" Jim asked when Sam drifted off. Sam looked over at Jim with a frown. Jim could see he was reluctant. "It's okay, Sam. You can say anything. Ask me anything. And if I can answer, I will."

Sam finished with Robby and picked him up. Sam sat close to Jim, cross-legged on the floor, letting Robby try to climb over his legs. "Well, you kept a grip on Len all the time, his arm, his shoulder. Like you were trying to pin him down, hold him still. As if you were afraid he was going to get up and walk away in the middle of the visit. We just, both Aurelan and I, felt that something had gone on with you two and you were trying to act 'normal' in front of us. Are you two having problems? Relationship problems?"

Jim leaned back, shaking his head. " _No,_ nothing like that. I didn't realize we were acting strange. I guess… "

"And when we asked about the stripe, we both saw Len wince just a bit. And you both looked a bit worn out. We were afraid maybe we'd caught you at the tail end of an argument or something."

_I said I'd try to answer if I could. I can't tell him everything about the last few months, but most of it isn't classified in any way. Maybe… maybe keeping things from our family isn't the best idea. We can try to save them from worry, but they're not stupid. If he says we were acting strange, he's probably right. He's trying so hard to make us feel welcomed and loved. Doesn't that deserve the truth?_

"No, nothing like that. But it's complicated, Sam," Jim said quietly. "We've had a few hard months. First, I got really badly injured on a new planet. Acid burns... over a large portion of my head and back. This stripe," Jim ran a hand over it, "was just a small part of the skin I lost. Bones and his Dad can probably still tell when most can't, and it's taken a while for the new skin to take and for me to feel normal again. There were… severe complications. I was out of it most of the time, on life support. Bones had a really bad time."

"Oh, my God, Jim," Sam said with alarm. "That's horrible! Are you okay now?"

"I'm fine," Jim said with a shrug. "Like I said, I was out of it most of the time. It was harder on Bones than on me. And then…"

_This'll be hard to tell him. Not just because it was hard to live through, but because it'll just point out how dangerous our job is. It won't be a theoretical idea of what could happen, it'll be the truth about what **did** happen. And he already worries so much. But, I think I need him to know as much about me as he can. About what we really do. So he can understand me better. _

"And then?" Sam said, looking concerned.

"On another mission, not long afterward..." Jim took a big breath. "Bones died."

"What?" Sam looked shocked. "Died? How? I don't understand."

"He's fine now, no after effects. But at the time…" Jim shook his head at the memory. His voice grew grim. "There are _beings_ out there, Sam, that can manipulate matter like we manipulate clay, and some of them don't think much of us. We ran across one and while trying to figure out what was going on, Bones was killed. By a dagger in the back. He was brought back later, by one of those beings. Maybe he didn't actually die. We don't know for sure. But to both of us, it was as real as it gets without being permanent. He _died_."

Sam looked horrified. "You _saw_ him die? You were with him when it happened?"

Jim's voice dropped to almost a whisper. "Yes. And I… we… said our goodbyes."

Sam blinked, his arms wrapping around Robby, who was standing and hanging on to his shirt.

" _God_ , Jim, I don't even know…" Sam's expression was of stunned horror. "If that had been Aurelan, or the kids... I can't even begin to imagine how horrible..."

Jim barely nodded. "I knew the second he died. Touched his body. Said goodbye. I was a _widower_ , Sam. For about fourteen or fifteen of the worst hours of my life. I guess it's taken a bit to put it behind me. It was only a few weeks afterward that we had our Christmas vid." Jim tried to smile. "I guess we were trying too hard to look normal, when we'd both been through some rough stuff. We didn't want to worry any of you."

"Was that why you sent the box?"

Jim shrugged. "It's not safe out there, Sam. We all know that. I realized that those things I wanted to keep forever weren't safe on the ship. And I wanted there to be something left of my life if I never made it back. If Bones and I didn't come back for the box, it could be yours. Then maybe Peter's or Robby's some day. Maybe their children's. Even if no one knew all the stories that come with the contents, they'd still be safe."

Sam took a deep breath, looking almost angry. "We've put it in a safe place for you. You know we'll take care of it. But Jim, don't you think it's _enough_ now?"

"We've discussed it, Bones and I," Jim admitted. "Talked about when to call it quits, settle down on Deneva, with the rest of you."

Sam studied him, still frowning. "And you've decided to stay in Starfleet."

"We've decided that we're still needed, Sam." Jim gave him a small smile. "I know you probably don't understand—"

" **No** , I don't," Sam said, sounding frustrated. He was clearly holding back some of his feelings as he looked at the baby playing in his lap. "I'm not built for that kind of life, Jim. I don't understand what you see out there. Why you feel you still need to be in danger, when you could be here, with us, safe."

Jim sighed. He leaned forward, elbows on knees, to be closer to Sam.

"Nowhere is _really_ safe, Sam. Vulcan thought they were as safe as they could possibly be. I was there, when it died, and.... and it's not something any of us can ever forget. What we do out there helps _protect_ those we love. I know it seems like the universe is crowded, Sam, but it's really not. Without warp we'd still be alone, back on Earth. Barely able to talk to each other, when we could find someone out there listening at all. There's so much _nothingness_ out there and so few of _us_ when you consider all of our reality."

Jim could see Sam was listening closely.

"Bones and I can still make a difference, Sam. Try our best to keep everyone safe and protected. Find new friends and new technologies that may save whole civilizations someday. Then, when we do call it quits and come home, we can actually feel that we've done our part. That we've left the universe in good hands by training our replacements." Jim smiled. "Or, as Bones put it, we can really relax, knowing that our shift is over. We just haven't reached that point yet, when we know our usefulness has come to an end. When we have no more left to give."

"Jim," Sam said grimly, looking Jim in the eyes. He almost looked scared. "You'll be _twenty-nine_ in a few days."

Jim could hear what his brother didn't say. "And Dad didn't make it past twenty-nine. You're afraid I won't either."

"Twenty-nine is no time at all, Jim. I think of the day Peter and Robby will be twenty-nine, and they'll still be so young to me, even then." Sam's eyes went from scared to sad. "You're _so much_ like him, Jim. I don't want to lose you too. I messed up so much with you when—"

Jim reached out and put his hand on Sam's arm to stop him.

"You were a _kid,_ Sam. We've all made mistakes. Your's aren't any worse than mine. And we both held back for a while. You were the _first_ to try to make contact. That meant a _lot_. It still does. I'm not sure I would have ever tried to contact you if you hadn't made the first move. If it hadn't been for _Bones_ asking me to listen to you after you both were saved on the space station, I'm not sure I would have. Then, the _worst_ mistake would have been _mine_. We weren't kids anymore and if I'd walked away..."

Sam's eyes grew misty and he picked up Robby, who was starting to fuss, and brought him to his shoulder. Sam looked at Robby instead of Jim, his voice low.

"I love you, Jim. Both you and Len. I don't want either of you to die out there. I want you and Len to be happy, here with us. I can't help how I feel. How I'll always feel about you both."

"I love you too, Sam. We both do. And that's the same plan we have," Jim said kindly. "Just not right _now_."

Sam nodded. Jim could see that Sam really didn't think he'd talk them into quitting. Not just yet. But it touched Jim's heart that his brother loved him enough to try.

"You know, if anything happens to either of you, we want the other one here," Sam said with a sigh. "Len knows that, right? That he's ours now? Just like David and John are ours?"

Jim grinned. "He knows. And if he forgets, I'll remind him. And you've adopted John as well? I'm glad."

Sam shrugged and gave Jim a crooked smile. "It _was_ kind of creepy, at first. He looks _so much_ like Len, even if they aren't the same age. Reminds me of Len sometimes, his mannerisms. The way he'll say a word or two. How are they related, anyway? David's kind of vague on that."

_Now, this is something they shouldn't know. John's past is best left in the past and known to as few as possible. John just wants to be normal now, nothing special._

"I guess you could say it's pretty complicated," Jim said with a shrug. He held out his hands to see if Robby, who was looking at him with speculation, would come to him. "You know how many families got split up by the Eugenics Wars. I'm sure their genealogy must be something interesting, if anyone ever figures it out."

 _And how,_ Jim thought. _Let's just hope no one ever does._

"Well, it's pretty clear he's related _somehow_." Sam held Robby out to Jim, who took the little guy carefully. Robby watched him but didn't make a fuss as Jim set him on his lap. "If John were much younger, he and Len could be twins. And if David says they're kin, then John's kin to us as well. We enjoy their company. They're good people."

Robby grabbed a handful of Jim's shirt and pulled himself up to stand on Jim's lap, eyes on Jim's face. Robby reached up to grab Jim's lower lip. Jim let him, touching his tongue to the tiny fingers, making Robby smile and laugh.

Happy that the baby finally accepted him, Jim laughed back.

"See? Told you he'd come around." Sam got up with a smile and took the folded, dirty diaper away. "Just watch for your eyes. He's fascinated by hair and eyes. Your white stripe is a prime target."

"I'll remember that," Jim said bouncing Robby on his lap. "Why keep it if it doesn't get me any extra attention? That's what Bones says it's for."

Sam laughed as he walked to the back of the office to the 'fresher. "Now _that_  I believe one-hundred percent."

The rest of the afternoon seemed to go quickly. Aurelan had settled down to her computer, getting ready for her walking survey the next day and watching Robby while he napped. The men, Peter, and puppy had spent the afternoon exploring the tall grass around them. Then they decided to hike toward the closest mesa. Jim was fascinated by the large, multi-colored rock cliffs. Bones had teasingly groused that somehow Jim was going to get permission to come back out and climb them. He wasn't far wrong. That grousing had turned to startled expletives when Bones had slipped in his footing and filled his hiking boots with the clear, cold mountain water that was draining to the sea. Peter had laughed and joined him by jumping feet first into another bit of the stream. Jim couldn't help but join them and start a water fight, including a scolding Sam who finally gave up being a target and joined in. At the end they had a happy puppy shaking water all over the four of them, while they'd tried to wring their shirts out. It had been a long, soggy hike back for all.

Aurelan had looked at them all like they were crazy when the four drenched hikers returned, and refused to feel sorry for any of them during their scramble for warm clothes.

Lunchtime had come, finding them all famished. They lounged around outside in folding chairs and talked all afternoon. Sunset was followed by a chili dinner Jim and Bones put together. Because of Sam, Jim and Aurelan's love of super-hot chili spice, Bones and Peter had kept to leftovers from lunch. Jet had seemed crestfallen that he'd been left with dog food and had searched the ground all evening for any dropped morsels.

Then, a few hours after dinner, everyone seemed ready for bed, although Peter still wanted to stay up and hear Jim play the guitar. Jim had promised, but by the time his dinner had settled, he was too tired to play very well. He promised Peter he'd give it a try the following evening, and he and Bones called it a night.

He'd hoped for some quiet sex with Bones that night, since they'd been too tired the night before. And Jim knew it wasn't for nothing Sam had suggested Jim and Bones pitch theirs with the large shuttle between the two tents.

But sometime after Bones left for his turn at the shuttle 'fresher, Jim fell asleep. He slept so hard, he didn't even dream.

 

***

 

 

Leonard McCoy woke suddenly, not knowing at first where he was. He was in a small space, with Jim beside him. It took a second to realize he was in their tent on Deneva. He lay there for a minute, wondering what had woken him up.

_After the day we had, you'd have thought I'd be sleeping the sleep of the dead as well. All that hiking and walking was tiring. Even Jet was ready for bed once we'd all eaten dinner._

Waking early, McCoy had spent the morning with Aurelan, who'd been thrilled to be able to discuss her job with him. It still amazed McCoy at how experts like her at Deneva's Wildlife and Terraforming Division had gone about introducing so much of Earth's wildlife on Deneva's terraformed landscape. It was an _incredibly_ complicated task, planned out over hundreds of years. Even now, a couple of hundred years after colonization, they still had another four-hundred-years on the plan. Not all Terran life would thrive here and the W&T division was always on the lookout for those species from other worlds that would fill in the blanks left by their failures. McCoy had been fascinated by it, and had monopolized Aurelan's time most of the morning.

The afternoon with the others had been fun. And by the time he and Jim had had to cook dinner, McCoy had finally started feeling like he was on vacation. That point when he could really relax, and not expect an emergency comm, or a red-alert, to pull him out of his relaxed state. By the time he got back to their tent for the evening, Jim had been sound asleep. He couldn't blame him.

_What time is it? Two a.m.? Wonder what woke me?_

He heard it then, the excited yip of Jet and Peter's quiet order for him to hush.

_Uh, oh. What're those two up to?_

McCoy crawled out of their sleeping bag, careful not to wake Jim. He moved to the front of the tent, glad he'd worn some old sweatpants and shirt to bed. He opened the bug screen and in the reflected light of Deneva's three small moons he could see Peter moving toward the mobile office door.

_Probably just a 'fresher break, but I'd better check. The kid's a Kirk. He could be getting into anything. And I don't remember if Sam set the sonic fence back up to keep Jet in. I wouldn't want the puppy to go missing in the middle of the night._

McCoy, deciding it was okay to go barefoot since he didn't remember where his shoes went to, left the tent.

"Hey, Peter," McCoy called softly as Jet saw him and romped his way over. McCoy petted the puppy. "'Fresher break?"

"Yeah," Peter said with a sigh. "I was gonna let Mom know, but she's sleeping too hard. I'm supposed to be careful and not wake Robby."

"Okay. I could stand to make a trip myself," McCoy said, walking to join Peter. "Good thing your folks can leave it unlocked out here, huh? Better than having to go in a hole in the ground."

Peter laughed as he made for the office door and McCoy followed him in, a bit surprised that no night lighting came on at their entrance. Only the light above the 'fresher door was still on. Just as Peter was headed for the 'fresher and McCoy had stepped in behind Jet, something hard hit McCoy's shoulder and toppled him over in the dark. He heard the door to the exit slide shut behind him.

Peter yelled in fear and Jet started to bark as McCoy felt someone punch him. Surprised, McCoy grabbed at his assailant's limb and started punching back blindly, unable to see anything but vague shadows in the darkness.

_Can't see them! Too dark! Peter!_

"'Fresher! Lock it!" McCoy yelled at Peter as he swung at where he figured his attacker's head would be, but missed. Someone heavy and bigger than him landed on him in a bone bruising tackle. McCoy twisted and heard the sound of a fist hitting the floor, just missing his head. He used a move to shift his weight and throw the intruder over his head and onto the floor. He heard Jet growl and what sounded like the dog latching onto someone. Just as McCoy stood up came the whining sound of a phaser on stun.  Jet yelped, then went quiet.

" _Don't_ move," ordered a voice from the front of the shuttle. It sounded like a woman. "Or I'll stun you too."

McCoy froze, trying to make out the shapes moving around him.

_Two of them. One large, strong, well-muscled. Probably human and male. One female, by the desk. They must have used an illegal transporter to get in here without us hearing them arrive._

_They must have night vision goggles on. I can't see much more than blurs moving around. And where the hell are Sam and Jim? They didn't hear any of that? Soundproof shuttle walls. These two let us get all the way inside before attacking me and shutting the shuttle door._

"What do you want?" McCoy asked breathlessly, still trying to make out shapes. He couldn't defend against something he couldn't see.

"Stun them and let's go," the male said with an anxious hiss.

" _Not_ finished yet," the woman replied angrily.

"Whoever the hell you are, just let me take the boy and the dog and _go_ ," McCoy said calmly, holding his hands up. "Whatever it is you want, I won't fight you for it. No use making a mess of this. Nothing in here worth fighting over."

"Your name?" the female demanded.

McCoy thought about lying, but he didn't know if that would anger them or not. He couldn't take a chance with Peter still locked in the 'fresher. "I'm Leonard McCoy. Just let me take my nephew and the dog and leave."

There was no answer for a moment, then the women said in a firm voice meant for her accomplice, "I'll open the 'fresher lock from here. Get the boy out. We may be able to use him."

"No!" McCoy said and threw himself backward as soon as the man moved. He made an impact and they both ended up on the floor, in a tangle of limbs and blows. McCoy had made one good hit, hard enough to wonder if he'd broken his hand, when he felt the blow of the phaser blast. Then nothing else.

 

***

 

Jim, head aching, woke up to frantic voices outside his tent.

_What the hell? What's wrong?_

"Jim? Jim! Is Peter here?" Sam asked as he stuck his head in the tent opening and looked around. "Where's Len?"

"What?" Jim asked, feeling thick and fuzzy as he pushed himself up. He looked around. Bones wasn't there. "Peter's not with you?"

"No," Sam said with concern. He backed out of the tent. "Aurelan? Len's gone too. Maybe they went for a walk."

Jim reached over and grabbed his shoes, pulling them on bare feet. Seeing it was dawn, he grabbed a jacket from the corner and stuffed his arms in it. He grabbed his comm on the way out. The wind that picked up during the day had yet to start stirring the grass around them. Jim looked around. Nothing seemed different, except Aurelan was standing in the shuttle's entryway, Robby in her arms, looking concerned.

"Did Len take him somewhere?" Aurelan asked as Jim walked up to her. Her hair was a mess and she looked like she'd slept as hard as Jim had. Robby was in her arms, curled up close to her, sucking on his fingers.

"I... I don't know," Jim admitted. "I didn't see him this morning. Just woke up. Let me check his comm."

Jim signaled Bones's comm from his own. All three heads turned when a tell-tale beep came from inside Jim and Bones's tent.

_He wouldn't leave it there if he went for a walk. He wouldn't want us to worry._

"Jet's gone too," Sam said. He kept turning to scan the horizon.

"It's okay if he did," Aurelan said to Jim, trying to sound calm. "Take Peter for a walk, I mean. It just would have been nice if he'd told us."

_But he **wouldn't** take Peter away like that. Not without letting someone know or taking a comm with him. He's dealt with more parents than I have, especially when he used to work the ER on Earth. He'd know better than to go off with a kid without letting the parents know. _

But Jim didn't want to say it out loud and scare them both. He tried to sound casual. "I'm sure they're okay. When was the last time you saw Peter?"

"When we tucked both the kids into bed," Sam said worriedly. "I was so tired, I was about out of it myself. But we made sure they were all tucked in and Jet had settled in with Peter."

"I didn't _hear_ anything," Aurelan said, starting to sound scared. "I usually hear when either of the kids start to stir. Mommy radar I guess. But I didn't know he'd left the tent until I got up. Then I checked the shuttle, in case he'd gone in for breakfast."

"Maybe Jet took off and Peter followed, so Bones took off after them," Jim said.

"I'm sure I left the sonic fence up," Sam said, moving past Aurelan and into the shuttle. "Wouldn't we have heard them yelling after Jet?"

"I don't know," Jim said. _You'd think so, but I could have slept through it. I know I didn't hear a thing. I don't even remember dreaming._

Jim walked up to Aurelan. "Let's check and see if anything is different from how we left it last night."

Inside, the shuttle looked the same. Sam was in the cockpit, checking the controls. Aurelan looked over the kitchen. Jim opened the 'fresher door and looked inside. Nothing looked out of place. Jim stepped inside to check the small shower. Nothing.

"The sonic fence is turned off," Sam said shortly, then pounded one hand on an armrest. "But I'm _sure_... I'm _sure_..."

"Okay," Jim said quickly. "Listen, Sam, don't worry about that now. If the sonic fence is off, then maybe they're out there, after chasing Jet. Let's get this shuttle moving and do some sweeps. We can keep an eye out and turn up the audios and visual sensors. See if we can spot them."

"Yeah, okay," Sam said quickly, then looked at Jim. "You're better with shuttles, could you--"

"Sure," Jim said, feeling some relief that Sam would let him pilot. Sam had basic experience, but Jim had more. A _lot_ more. "Get strapped in. Aurelan--"

"I'll put Robby in his travel seat," she said from the back. "I've locked all the drawers and kitchen equipment. My desk and the couch are still locked in place."

"I'll get the playpen put away," Sam said and headed back to do so.

They were in the air in moments. Jim set them up high enough to see over the grass, but not so high they'd miss anything. "Does Jet have a chip implant?"

"Yes," Aurelan said. "But it's not readable from a distance. It's to ID him, not locate him."

"Okay." Jim started circling the campsite in a spiral. Sam came and sat next to him in the co-pilot's seat, watching all the shuttle's monitoring equipment. It was an office shuttle and had only the basic sensors. It would refuse to land on anything living and wouldn't allow itself to bump another vehicle or building. At least Sam could see if there was anything large and living under them. If either Bones or Peter were hidden in the grass they'd see them, or the sensor would ping.

Jim didn't bring up the fact that they'd have to be alive to be detected. He could see from Sam's face that he already knew that.

They circled the area for almost forty minutes, which put them more than a kilometer away from the campsite. There was nothing but small animals and the birds they startled into flight.

Reluctantly, Jim brought them back to the campsite and set the shuttle back down in its original spot. Aurelan took a fussy Robby with her and went to check the tents, just in case the two had come back.

"Sam," Jim said softly, "We need to call in help."

"I know," Sam said. "I was just hoping--"

"Me too."

Sam typed in Deneva's open emergency channel and called in the Rescue Services.

 

 

***

 

"Uncle!"

McCoy felt a soft pat on his face. He fought to wake up. A lot of him hurt, including his face.

"Uncle! Uncle Len!"

He opened one bleary eye. The other was almost swollen shut. He startled as memory of the fight came back. He could tell by the aching in the back of his head and the taste in his mouth that he'd been stunned. The room around him was dark, with the only light coming from a thin strip under a closed door.

"Peter?" McCoy tried to sit up but found his hands bound behind him. He had to roll on his side to pull himself up to a sitting position. "Are you okay? Are you tied up too?"

"I'm okay," Peter said, his voice watery. "And I'm not tied up."

"Good. Good. Peter," McCoy tried to sound confident. "We're going to be okay. There's a door there. Have you tried it yet? Is there a manual light switch by it?"

"I'll see."

McCoy could hear Peter get up and move to the door. He could barely make out his silhouette. In a moment a single light fixture above them flicked on. Peter and McCoy blinked in the sudden light. Peter tried the door handle, but it was locked. McCoy looked Peter over. He looked as if he'd cried at some point, but he seemed in control now. Still in his pajamas and looking ruffled but unharmed, he came back over to kneel next to McCoy.

"Uncle Len? You have a puffy eye and blood under your nose."

"It may look scary, but I'm fine, kid. You okay? They didn't hurt you, did they?"

"The bad guy hurt my arm a little when he dragged me out from under the sink. I tried to hide, but the man found me. I wrote a note to Mom and Dad, so they'd know that the bad men had come. And I don't know where Jet is. They left him on their ship when they put us here."

"We'll find him. Just see if we don't. You said you wrote a note?"

"Uh, huh. Under the sink."

"Smart thinking, Peter." McCoy smiled at him. "How was your arm hurt?"

"Just twisted a bit," Peter said, touching his shoulder. "I'll be okay. But I'm scared."

"Don't blame you, kid. That _was_ scary. But you did _good_. Here, move back so I can get up." It took McCoy a few tries to get his balance and stand. He then looked around the room. It looked like a storage area, with rows of drawers built into the metal walls.

"Any idea how long we've been here?" McCoy asked. "Or how long it's been since the bad guys left?"

Peter shrugged, his eyes filling with tears and his words came out quickly. "Seems like a _long_ time. I don't know. The people who took us argued, then we landed and one of them got off. Then the man flew us here and made me come in here. I thought he'd left me alone, but then he dragged you in. I tried to wake you up when he left, but it took a long time. On the ship, you started to wake up and they shot you again and I was afraid you'd stopped breathing and..." Peter's voice broke and the tears came.

"C'mere, sweetheart and give me a hug, okay?" McCoy said, wishing he had his arms free. Peter practically jumped on him, wrapping his arms around McCoy's torso and squeezing hard as he rested his head against McCoy's chest. "I think we both need that right now, yeah?

Peter nodded, trying to get his tears under control.

"We're gonna be _alright_. Your parents, Uncle Jim and lots and lots of other people will be looking for us, okay? We just need to do our part and help them out a bit. You just listen to me and we'll be fine."

"Yeah." Peter sniffled and let McCoy go, then stepped back and wiped at his face.

"Do you know who those people are, recognize their voices? Ever hear your Mom or Dad talk about anyone who'd break into their stuff?"

"No."

"Any idea where we are?"

Peter shook his head. "They didn't say."

McCoy tried to pull his wrists apart. It felt like it was tied with something plastic. It was tight, and his hands were starting to ache as his heart raced.

"Peter?" McCoy twisted his torso to show Peter his wrists. "Can you look at my wrists and see if you can untie them? Can you tell me what they used?"

"They're the storage ties my Dad sometimes uses in the garage and at work. I don't know how to open them. Maybe I can find something sharp." Under control now that he had something to do, Peter began opening drawers. There were a few old tools, a screwdriver, a hammer, some twine and various nuts and bolts in one of the drawers. The rest were empty.

"Nothing sharp," Peter said worriedly.

"Don't worry, I have an idea," McCoy said. "Peter, I need to bring my hands under my rear, then under my legs and get my hands in front of me. I may need your help. If I get stuck, help me by pushing me through, okay?

"Okay," Peter replied, looking uncertain.

McCoy sat back down and tried to relax and lean forward enough to slip his hands under his ass. It hurt his wrists, but was possible. He was painfully able to wiggle enough to get his hands to his thighs then knees. "Help me push my feet through."

Peter pushed on his feet and McCoy was finally able to bring his wrists forward and around his feet. His hands and wrists were really painful now, and his hands were turning red and starting to puff up. He stood up.

"Move back," McCoy said raising his hands high above his head. If he remembered his training right, one good jolt should break the plastic ties. Sharply, he brought his elbows down to his side in a hard swing and with a painful snap the plastic broke.

Peter's eyes grew wide.

McCoy shook out his hands, trying to get the circulation going. Soon, the sensation of pins and needles in his arms and hands told him the blood flow was back.

_We must be in some kind of maintenance or utility building. There's a small air vent in the ceiling, door is a standard metal swinging door. There's a gap at the bottom so it's not sealed shut. The hinges are on the inside. Let's see what we can do about that. Thank God for colonists who started with the old-fashioned stuff they could fix by hand or fabricate. Not everything is reset doors, computers, nano-leads and programming._

McCoy went to the metal door and pressed his ear to it. He didn't hear anything.

"Peter? I want you to listen at this door. If you hear anything, let me know.

Wide-eyed, Peter put his ear to the door. McCoy went to the drawer with the hammer and screwdriver.

_They couldn't have planned on putting prisoners in here with this stuff still here, unless they thought they were all empty. They must be panicked and are making do with what they have at hand. And that includes locations. One of the kidnappers has been here before. They know it well enough to know it's empty, and should stay empty for a while._

Taking the screwdriver and hammer to the door, he pulled Peter back. "Hear anything?"

Peter shook his head.

"Okay, let's see if we can get this door opened."

Placing the edge of the screwdriver on the bottom of the door hinge, McCoy pounded away at it until the bottom of the hinge pin broke off. The noise was almost deafening in the small room, but he didn't have any way to muffle the blows. There were three sets of hinges and McCoy worked the bottom pin on the other two. In between, he had Peter listen at the door. No sounds.

When the third pin broke, McCoy put the screwdriver under the edge of the door and hammered it in as far as it would go, which pushed the door and it's hinges up and off of the frame side a bit, making the pins loose. "Okay, Peter. I'm going to mess with the door. Stand back in case it falls over."

Grabbing the handle, McCoy jiggled the door as hard as he could. The hinge pins moved up a bit and with the retrieved screwdriver he pried up each pin out of the hinges, disconnecting the door from the frame. Then with some prying, he pulled the hinged side of the door, and it opened enough for them to slip through.

He held up a hand for Peter to stay silent, then poked his head through the opening. They were in a large metal building that had a concrete floor and tall metal ceiling. There was room for two shuttles, and two large doors that rolled up into the ceiling to let them in. Only now, it was empty. The cement floor was dirty and there were rust trails here and there down the walls, where water had leaked through. There were a few other metal doors he could see, one to the outside to his left, and a few down at the other end of the building, to his right.

There was no one around, and the place look like it had been empty for months, at least.

"Peter, listen. I'm going to take a look around," McCoy told Peter. He steered him back into a corner of the room. "I'm going to turn the lights back off. You stay here and hunker down until I know it's safe. Don't come out unless I tell you to, or you hear your parents, Uncle Jim or Law Enforcement, Okay?"

Peter looked uncertain but nodded. McCoy took the hammer with him and slipped into the open area after flicking off the light.

The large area was still. McCoy could hear birds outside, but nothing from the rest of the room. His bare feet were quiet in the dirt and dust that covered a lot of the cement. Treading carefully, he hugged the wall, deciding to tackle the rooms at the back first. Holding his ear to both doors once he reached them, he heard nothing. Opening first one, then the other, he found empty rooms. One contained a small office desk and chair. The other was a 'fresher.

He moved quietly across the building to the door at the front. Opening it up to the outside, he saw a cement slab large enough to land a couple of shuttles. No one was around. This end of the building was surrounded by tall cliffs. They seemed to be in some sort of narrow valley. Cursing the fact that he hadn't grabbed his shoes earlier, McCoy took a few steps out to look around the corner. No vehicles, no people, more cliff face.

_Someone's dropped us off and left. Probably kilometers from anywhere, walking wise._

He went back to the storage room, making sure to keep his voice calm. "It's okay, Peter. There's no one here."

Peter came through the opening, looking around carefully. "Where are we?"

"Don't know," McCoy admitted. "Let's check out the office. See what they've left behind."

The office looked long unused and smelt old and stale. No one had left hurriedly though, as the desk and shelves had been emptied. There was no computer embedded in the desk and no comm or other outside links that McCoy could find. They both searched the 'fresher, which had minimal water flow in the sink, no soap or towels or any of the amenities' except an old-fashioned air hand dryer. With some bending, he and Peter were able to drink out of the sink faucet. A dusty mirror showed McCoy that he did look a fright. He felt covered in bruises. He took off his sweatshirt and wet the hem and cleaned his face off a bit. Peter seemed relieved when the blood was gone.

_At least we have power, or the light in the storage room wouldn't have worked. But whoever used this place has been gone for a while. And there didn't look to be any roads out. Fly in only._

Peter looked around curiously once they were back inside the huge open area.

"Uncle? Can we look around outside?"

"Okay, if we're careful," McCoy said, leading the way back across the open floor. "You think you recognize this place?"

"Maybe," Peter said uncertainly.

Outside, McCoy was glad at least Peter had slippers on. The sun was shining down hard, at almost mid-day, lighting up the small valley. Peter walked to the center of the landing slab and looked around at the building and the cliffs.

McCoy picked his way carefully around the debris on the landing pad to join him.

"I _think_ I've been here before," Peter said, his face scrunched up in concentration as he looked around. "I think Dad brought me here when I was a little kid. It's where he studied his microbes. Now, he mostly works in the labs by our house, where there are other caves."

_So, someone Sam works with, who knew about this place? But what would they want with anything in the office shuttle? That was Aurelan's workspace, not Sam's._

McCoy sighed, as they looked around the cliff area. "Any idea if there's a settlement near here?"

Peter shook his head. "I don't think so. We don't have cities too far away from Center City or Proctor. There's a big station for ships and freight from the asteroid mines at the northern pole. Dad says they can't get much to grow there, so it's okay for them to take a lot of land for ships to land and store things. 'Cause that's what we sell to other planets."

"Can you remember how long a ride this place was from your house?"

Peter frowned, concentrating. "That was a couple of years ago, when I was a lot younger. It seemed like a long time to fly. Dad said they weren't going to come up much anymore. So, they'd have to come back and take the building down once they sealed the caves back up. So, things would grow again in the valley."

"Caves?" McCoy asked. "Do you remember where the caves are? Maybe there's something there we can use to get you home."

"Back there," Peter pointed to the back of the building. "But you'll have to walk on gravel and you have no shoes."

"We'll make do," McCoy said. "I have an idea on how to make some. You good with tape?"

 

***

 

Under the watchful eye of an Emergency Response officer, Jim tried to sit quietly in their shuttle while Aurelan nursed Robby. Sam was alone with the Sergeant in charge of this area. Outside, there were several ER shuttles making sweeps of the marsh, as Jim had done, only going much further away and with better equipment. They had arrived within an hour of Sam's call, which was good, considering the distances they covered. They had taken down the basic information on those missing as soon as they arrived and had immediately started the search. The Sergeant had arrived soon after her men and had set up a base of operations in his shuttle. She had requested meetings with the three of them, separately, while more searchers were called in. Aurelan had come out of the meeting angry and red-faced, unable or unwilling to meet Jim's eyes.

_They suspect foul play. How can I blame them, when I suspect it too? Only, they're looking **inside** the camp, when I know damn well no one **here** would be involved. It feels like such a waste of time, but they don't know us. They don't have much choice. And the officer is here to make sure we don't talk to each other until after we've talked to the Sargent. Sargent Lee knows we've already had plenty of time to concoct a story, if we were involved. She doesn't want us to have more. _

Sam came out of the tiny office, looking as if he wanted to hit someone. He went to sit next to Aurelan. He didn't look at Jim either.

_I can imagine what they're asking. Probably wanting to know if Bones is some kind of pedophile, or has a sketchy past. Asking how well they really know him. Should they really have trusted him around their kids? What kind of doctor has to work in space, away from families? How can they be sure about a man they've only met through a brother? One who was estranged for over ten years? Questions meant to bring up any doubt they may have or were afraid to voice. Giving them the chance to say whatever they think they needed to say about their missing son and his uncle by marriage._

_And they **have to** ask. I'd ask the same thing in the same situation. I have to remember that, and not take it personally. If they **knew** Bones, they'd never have to ask. _

Jim gritted his teeth. He wasn't looking forward to it. Just like he couldn't look forward too much help from Starfleet. He'd contacted their liaison in Proctor about Peter and Bones's disappearance. They'd advised him to leave the search and rescue up to the Deneva's at this point. Jim knew the Enterprise was long gone and wouldn't be called back for a missing, off-duty crewman even if he was the ship's CMO. While part of the Federation, Deneva's laws were to be respected and their chain of command followed at all times. It wasn't like the Federation wasn't spread thin enough as it was, let alone police individual planets. By law, Jim had no real authority here. He could only hope Admiral Roberts could help in _some_ way, if they couldn't find their missing people.

As of right now, what backup he had on planet he'd called.

"Captain Kirk?"

Sergeant Lee stood in the doorway, her face serious. Jim nodded and stood.

The door to the ER shuttle suddenly slid open and Jim stopped in relief, then surprise.

John Grimm, dressed in a dark grey business suit, came in the door. David McCoy, looking angry and concerned, came in behind him.

Jim hadn't seen John in person since they'd left him in David's care while he was in a coma, although they'd talked through sub-space and vids several times. Now, four months out of the coma, John looked slim, healthy, and somewhere in his early fifties. His face had more lines at his mouth and eyes than before, and was framed by temples that were gray, with bits of white sprinkled here and there in a full head of hair. He wasn't as muscular as he had been, but he looked lean and fit. His eyes, still a bright hazel that would forever remind Jim of Bones's, were even now being upstaged by those expressive eyebrows he shared with Jim's husband. John was angry, concerned, and all business.

"Sargent Lee?" John walked up to the ER Sargent, holding out a PADD. "I'm John Grimm, new member of the DoDD. I'm related to these people and would take it as a kindness if you'd let me and my department in on this missing person's case. I have a note from my boss if that'd help ease your concerns over my clear lack of impartiality. He believes I can help."

_What? John's gotten a job? That must have been the surprise he told us he'd share at the birthday party. Whatever the DoDD is, it must be important. Sargent Lee is taking him seriously._

John waved back toward David. "This is Doctor David McCoy, part-time surgeon at Proctor Health and General and father of the missing man. He's here with me as a courtesy to the family and a volunteer for any medical treatment or research this case might need."

Sargent Lee frowned and looked at the PADD. "Do you really believe that this will be a DoDD case?" she asked. "So far, all we have are two missing people and a dog."

"Don't know, Ma'am. But there are things I can't discuss that I'd like to follow up on," John told her. "I don't want to interfere in the search, but I'd like complete access to the mobile office that was used by the Kirk family if you don't mind. There may be things there that I can help with once I get the whole story."

Sargent Lee paused for a moment, studying them all, then nodded. "The sooner we can find the two missing, safe and sound, the sooner we can all go home. I'll let my men know you have full access. All I ask," Lee said with a frown, "is that you don't keep me in the dark on this, Mr. Grimm."

"Agreed. If you have any news, please contact us immediately. We won't leave the area without letting you know first," John said. He looked at Sam, Aurelan and Jim. "C'mon, guys. Let's go to the office shuttle and talk."

The five of them, with Robby, left the ER shuttle and headed back to Aurelan's rental office. Jim felt like Sam and Aurelan looked, a bit shocked and uncertain as to what John was up to. Once inside the shuttle, John locked the door while looking around him at the setup.

"Okay, everyone please sit," John instructed as he walked around the small quarters. "I tend to pace when I'm thinking. Aurelan? You can use the playpen if you need to put Robby down. We can keep it low."

"He does need a nap," she said tiredly. Sam helped her put the drowsy baby in the playpen and covered him up. Jim left Sam and Aurelan the couch and sat on the edge of the desk. David pulled out the desk chair and brought it up into the circle next to Jim.

"What's going on?" Sam asked tensely, looking from John to David. He turned to John. "You said were from the DoDD?"

"That's the _Department of Digital Defense_ ," David murmured to Jim. "Deneva's computer intelligence division."

 _Wow. I'll bet they snapped him up in half a second,_ Jim thought, _and probably did a happy dance for a week. With the fake Starfleet Medical service history Boyce arranged for him, and his 200-year-old accrued computer skills, they'd be insane to pass up on hiring him. He probably broke into his boss' bank account, personal diaries, traffic fines and his holo-vid purchase list in about 30 seconds, and scared the hell out of them. Who better to make sure a planet's defense systems are unhackable than the best hacker there is?_

"Was a surprise," John said with an apologetic smile and a shrug. "Had to find something to do with my time. Deneva's computer systems, communications and defense satellites desperately need upgrading and overseeing. I applied, and with my credentials they snapped me up about a month ago. Technically, I'm a free agent within the department. I had to keep it all quiet until they could get all my clearances in place and hook me up into their systems. I work when I want, where I want, behind the scenes," John said. "When Jim called, I grabbed David and headed over. Guys? Tell me exactly what happened."

Both Sam and Aurelan looked at Jim, which led to David and John looking at him as well.

Jim started from their arrival at the campsite, how they'd spent their day and how they'd found Peter, Bones and Jet missing the next morning. It didn't take him long.

There was grim silence afterward, until Sam broke it after reaching for Aurelan's hand.

"Jim? David?" Sam started reluctantly. "The Sargent asked some very disturbing questions about Len."

"Asked you if he could possibly be a pedophile?" Jim responded with a sigh. "If he could have kidnapped Peter and run off with him? Or molested him and panicked? That's usually standard procedure on most planets with a missing child case. They don't _know_ any of us. They have to ask in case this was a situation where the two weren't lost, but on the run or hiding. And they do it in a private interview, so people can feel free to talk. It's not personal."

"Len would _never_ hurt Peter," Aurelan said angrily. " _Never_. I know we haven't known him all that long or spent a huge amount of time with him. But we _know_ him..." She stopped then and her hand flew up to her mouth, stifling a sob.

Sam leaned over and put his arm around her. Sam's eyes flashed at Jim, David and John. "If Len's with Peter, he's _protecting_ him. Don't _any_ of you think we doubt that for a second."

" _Thank you_ ," David said gently, appreciation in his eyes.

Jim nodded his thanks at the two, not trusting his voice at the moment.

"So, where do we start?" John asked as he strode to the cockpit window, arms crossed as he stared at the busy search teams outside. "From what you've said, they could have gone missing any time from nine p.m. to seven a.m. That's ten hours. They didn't use this shuttle to fly out. There aren't any land roads that connect to this area, being Protected wilderness. Aurelan, you know this area. How far could they possibly get walking through this marsh?"

Aurelan leaned on Sam and sighed. "Not to the mountains. They're 150 kilometers from the ocean, in any direction. We're about 2 kilometers from the ocean here. There are dry patches here and there, which we can walk on, but the closer you get to the ocean, the more of a slog it is. It would slow them down."

"But, they could have headed there? If they went to chase Jet?"

"I'm _sure_ I set the sonic gate," Sam said dejectedly. "It wouldn't keep a person in, or out, but Jet wouldn't go near it. I _remember_ doing it, even though I just wanted to hit the sack. I knew we could all be making 'fresher trips at night. So, I left the office shuttle open and the sonic gate on so Jet wouldn't go roaming in case he got out of the tent."

"They're searching the beach," Jim said reluctantly. "I heard that they'll be starting some deeper water scans soon, in case..." Jim drifted off, not needing to say why they'd need to search the ocean.

"Jim?" David said thoughtfully, rubbing at his chin. "Tell me about your evening again. As detailed as you can be."

Jim went over the night again. Sam and Aurelan nodded at his description.

"Maybe it's only a coincidence," David said with a shrug. "But Leonard, Peter and Jet, were the only three that didn't eat what everyone else ate."

"Yeah," Jim said. "Bones and I talked about it and he was fine with lunch leftovers. He's just not into the really spicy stuff, and didn't want anyone to cook just for him."

"And Peter's never developed a taste for it," Aurelan said with a half-hearted smile. "Not that we haven't tried winning him over."

"But does that mean anything?" David asked himself. Then he shook his head and sighed. "Probably not."

Robby wiggled than, eyes still closed.

"I'll need another diaper," Aurelan said woodenly.

"I'll get it," Sam said as he stood. "I don't know if I can sit still, or out of the way, for much longer. I feel like I'm going to jump out of my skin if I can't _do_ something soon."

The rest of them sat quietly, each with their own thoughts.

_What are we missing? There has to be **something**. Bones wouldn't go away from camp without his comm. He was dressed for sleep. His other clothes are still in the tent, as well as his boots. There were no dishes in the sink, the replicater hadn't been used yet on this trip. None of the groceries seemed to have been touched. So, they didn't have breakfast without us. Aurelan said Peter would still be in his pajamas. There's no new food in Jet's bowl. His leash is still here. Sam is sure he'd left the sonic gate on, but it was off this morning. Why would Peter or Sam turn it off? Did Peter even know how? _

"Hey!" Sam yelled from the open fresher door. "In here! Quick!"

The four of them quickly crowded at the door. Sam was kneeling by the sink cabinet, the doors to the storage area underneath opened.

"Peter used to hide under the 'fresher sink, playing," Sam said quickly, looking frightened. "I saw one of the diaper packages moved to the shelves," Sam waved to them, "when I'd originally put them under the sink, so I looked...."

Jim dropped to the floor beside Sam, in front of the double-doored sink cabinet.

"Up there!" Sam pointed to the ceiling of the small space.

Jim leaned in to look. Up at the top, written in something thick, clear, and jell like, Jim could see words spelled out.

"Bad Men Hurt Uncle Jet," Jim said out loud.

Aurelan gasped.

"It's diaper cream," Sam said thickly. "Peter hid in here and wrote it in diaper cream."

"This isn't a case of being lost," John said grimly, his eyes now stormy. "It's a kidnapping."

 

 

***

 

 

It had taken McCoy and Peter time to walk to the caves. Peter, in his slippers, fared better than McCoy, whose feet were now covered in utility tape to help protect them from the gravel. It still hurt, and his feet would end up with bruises, but the makeshift covering was better than nothing. The cave was at the end of the valley and McCoy was glad to find the metal door protecting it unlocked. Just inside was a switch to turn on the old-fashioned string of lights. They found themselves at the top of some stairs that led down to a smooth path ground down into the floor of what looked to be a natural tunnel. It went on for quite a while and McCoy wondered how far down they were going to have to travel.

"It's there! Where Dad worked!" Peter pointed to another metal door further down the tunnel.

When they got there, it too was unlocked.

_I guess they don't worry about theft. No one has a reason to hang out in a Protected area. Since Peter said they were going to remove the building, they'd probably close this area up as well one day. They didn't leave anything behind they cared about._

McCoy wasn't surprised to find a set of rooms carved out of the rock. There was an entry connected to a hallway. Along both sides of the hallway were clear dividers into what looked like equipment-less labs. Empty tables were set against walls. There was what looked to be four small office rooms, all empty, with no comms or outside lines.

They searched quickly. In one small storage room their luck turned for the better. On one of the shelves were sealed containers of water and some emergency rations. There were several large containers of chemicals, and half a box of tens of thousands of tiny micros-sensors, smaller than a half a grain of rice. There were also palm-sized flashlights, empty beakers and measuring devices.

McCoy brought the water and rations to the front area, so they wouldn't have to search them out again. He took ration bars and gave two to Peter, one to eat and one to save for later. He was glad they didn't have to drink anymore sink water.

"Peter? Do you remember what's down in the rest of the cave?"

Peter frowned. "No. Just that it was dark, and the water glowed with the microbes Dad told me about. They did all kinds of studies on them, but found they were the same ones that were close to home because they were all in the same streams underground."

_I remember Pa and Sam talking about that. A lot of water on Deneva actually drains to underground streams, keeping the hot springs filled or running to the ocean. I remember Sam saying something about tracking the underground flow from one of their labs to another and then testing to see if the same microbes showed up. That's why he can work closer to home, as the streams all carried the same microscopic life from one end of Deneva to another. They'd just found a closer location to set up their labs._

"Okay. How about you stay here while I go take a look further in?" McCoy said.

"Can't I come?" Peter asked plaintively.

_He's still scared. I don't blame him._

"You sure?"

"Yeah," Peter said. "I just want to _stay with you_ , Uncle Len."

_How can I say no? Don't blame the kid for wanting someone he knows around all the time. This place is like a ghost town._

"Okay, but we have to be careful. I may have to shout at you, or order you to do something. Listen to what I say, and do it quick, okay? I'm just trying to keep you safe, but you have to do your part too."

"I can do that." Peter nodded, clearly relieved.

McCoy guessed that the trip down to the underground stream took almost thirty minutes. The trail down through the cave grew steeper in spots and stairs had been installed here and there along the route. The air grew warmer and more humid as they went along, with warm air rushing in from unused tunnel branches along the trail. It reminded him of his trip through the tunnels of Ardana, only those tunnels were dry and not nearly as windy. He had to be careful, as the humidity made the smooth path slippery under his taped feet.

When they got closer to the end, McCoy could hear the sound of moving water. When finally coming to a large, open cavern, they were greeted by the sight of a blue-green phosphorescence all over the cave walls and floor. There were shallow pools of color on either side of a small, flowing stream that came out of a rocky hole and disappeared back into one after flooding parts of the cavern. Carefully, McCoy held a hand above one of the ponds. It was very warm, but not too hot. There was nothing left down here but stairs, lights and places on the rocky floor that had been ground flat and even for equipment.

_A dead end. We're not getting out of the valley this way. I'd hate to get lost in one of those side tunnels. Especially if no one knows where to come look for us._

_There's got to be something around here we can use to signal for help._

_I'm just not thinking hard enough._

 

***

 

The Emergency Response team called off their search and vacated the area to Deneva Law Enforcement. A new set of responders came in and took over, this time flooding the campsite with investigators and tools to help with kidnappings. The DLE team head, a Sargent Apparanto, seemed impressed with John's credentials, but checked them out anyway. Sargent Apparanto was told by his own superiors to give John Grimm complete access and co-operation, as well as that of Doctor McCoy. Jim thought Apparanto seemed happy to accept the help once John's and David's standings had been verified.

Once again back outside the mobile office, the five family members stood and watched the new investigation. It was coming up on late afternoon now and even though no one was hungry, David had talked some of the DLE responders into parting with some sandwiches and water bottles they carried in their own shuttle. David had handed them out and they all picked at them. No one ate or drank very much.

"Damn it, John," Jim said quietly when the others had wandered too far away to hear. "We may have screwed up anything they could find. We all went back into the office shuttle--"

"Don't, Jim," John said, shaking his head, his eyes sympathetic. "It's a generic shuttle, rented out to anyone who needs it. I don't think they scrub it clean of DNA, any more than any other rental company does. DNA, fingerprints, dog hairs... I'm sure it was a mess before the kidnapping. And if this team finds anything, which they will, there's no guarantee they do anything with it but weed ours out. Deneva doesn't DNA register its citizens unless they've committed a crime."

"So, only the ones who get caught are in the system."

"Pretty much," John replied with a frown. Jim tried not to think about how much he looked like Bones. "My question, is _why?_ And that's leading me to some troubling thoughts. Now, don't take this the wrong way, Jim, since I love Sam and his family to death. They've made me one of their own, when they didn't even know me. I'm gonna be there for them no matter what. But... who the hell would want to kidnap their kid? They're not exactly famous, even here on Deneva. _They're_ not rich." John sighed. "But **I** am."

"You think they may contact you for a ransom?"

John nodded. "Could be. I've got all my comms open and anyone wanting to get ahold of me can. If they contact me, I'll be talking to them in seconds. And if they want it all, they can have it. It's just messing me up to think--"

"No, no," Jim said, putting a hand on John's arm. "Don't. Not your fault. And as for kidnapping Peter... It just seems a strange place to do it." Jim shrugged. "Way out here? And how would they know..." A thought came to Jim. "Wait. What David said. That the three that are missing, didn't eat what the other three ate. What if what we ate--"

"Knocked you out?" John asked, eyebrows rising at the thought.

"We were _beat_ ," Jim said, remembering back to the night before. "We intended to stay up and talk. I'd brought my guitar. But it seemed like right after dinner I just wanted to get to bed. Peter fussed a bit about going to bed so early and Bones seemed up for a late night. But Sam, Aurelan and I were almost out of it, so we all agreed to call it a night. When we were cooking, Sam said that they'd ordered the supplies with the rental. They didn't buy the supplies or pack it themselves."

"Let's get David and check out the food," John said. "Maybe this wasn't a kidnapping, but Len and Peter interrupted something they were supposed to sleep through."

Once they got David, they talked to the officer in charge of the crime scene and David advised them what foodstuffs to test and what kind of samples their lab would need. Because of his credentials, they let David watch them collect the samples. He insisted on accompanying them back to the DLE lab for testing. Every bit of food and liquid in the office shuttle had been vid-recorded, inventoried and removed while the samples were taken away. Sargent Apparanto tried to talk the four remaining family members into going back to Proctor to wait. Jim knew they couldn't stay overnight, but he didn't want to leave the area. John, Sam and Aurelan agreed with him and decided to stay a while longer. They talked about needing to get Robby home for the night, eventually. They had lost all the food in the office shuttle to testing, but Aurelan was still producing enough milk during breastfeeding to keep Robby happy for a while.

Jim, Sam and Aurelan sat in the DLE shuttle and waited, watching Robby play in the portable playpen. John stayed outside the office shuttle, watching the search. Two hours later, Sergeant Apparanto got a call and after a moment nodded grimly and let Jim talk to David.

"Jim?"

"David?"

"It was the water and the chili spice. They're each infused with half of a slow acting, long lasting sleep drug. They're inert until combined. Not dangerous alone or together. But when you made the chili there wasn't any way an adult who ate it was going to be up for longer than an hour and a half, max. Peter would have been asleep in less than an hour."

"But Bones and Peter didn't eat it. So, something must have woken them up and they interrupted whatever was going on."

"I think so," David said, sounding scared. "Jim... whatever they were after, if they were willing to kill for it..."

"I know, David," Jim said, rubbing his face. He felt scared himself but didn't want to freak David out. "But Bones is one of the smartest, bravest and most resilient men I know. He'll do what he needs to do to keep Peter safe and get back to us. He _will_."

"God, I hope so," David said. "I'm on my way back. We need to figure out what they were after."

"I'll tell John. With the five of us, we'll figure it out, David. Count on it."

"I do," David said with conviction. "I surely do."

 

***

 

For McCoy and Peter, the trip back to the building was uneventful although wearying. They ate a bit more, drank the emergency water and used the 'fresher. Outside, they made a circle around the building, finding nothing but a few trees, shrubs and years of dead leaves surrounding the camp. The cliff walls were much too high and steep to think about climbing to the top, and there was no safe way out but to fly.

When the sun dropped below the top of the cliffs and the automatic lights came on outside, McCoy realized how tired they both were. There was an idea nibbling at the back of his brain, but it needed daylight. They found a nook up in the cliff that overlooked the building and landing pad that was hidden behind bushes and a spindly tree. Leaning with his back against the tree, eyes on the lit building and landing pad below them, McCoy settled Peter next to him, an arm over his shoulder. Peter leaned against him.

_At least the nights are still warm. Denevan summer. We can do without a blanket. I just wish we had a better hiding place outside. I still don't want to go scouting out those side tunnels. I doubt they lead anywhere, or ConLabs would have made the other exits known, just in case of a cave collapse or something. Sam wouldn't let something like that slip by._

Darkness fell quickly, making the floodlights over the landing pad almost blinding to look at.

_At least no one should see us right away, in the dark. Anyone lands or beams down, they'll be blinded too. At least we have those flashlights. Not much use for protection though._

Peter nestled closer to McCoy. His voice tired and low. "I _know_ Mom and Dad are looking for us."

"Got that right," McCoy agreed, patting Peter's back. "Bet they've got every ship they can call up looking for us right now."

"Maybe tomorrow they'll find us."

"Probably. And then we'll find out who the bad guys are, so they won't try something like that again," McCoy said. "Your Uncle Jim, he'll make sure of that. He's pretty stubborn about things like that. When he wants something done, he _gets it_ done. And I have an idea of how to signal your Dad's friends in the morning."

"Yeah? How?"

"Well, remember when we were in the office in the cave? The shelves with the food, water and other things? Remember when we talked about the microbes and the underground streams? When your Dad wanted to keep track of where all the microbes were and how they moved, he used those micro-sensors we found in that box. If someone's watching that sensing equipment, and we put those micro-sensors in the stream, they'll travel underground, past your Dad's equipment. Then maybe they'd get curious about where they came from. They'd be labeled with this site's name or location. And because no one is supposed to be here--"

"Dad will know that something is wrong here and come up to look!" Peter's eyes lit up.

"That's the plan," McCoy said. "But there weren't a lot of the micro-sensors left and I don't know how far they have to travel before someone sees them. So, I want to wait until morning, so that someone will be in your Dad's office to see the sensors go off. The sensors might see them at night and make a report, but I'd rather wait until a human is there to see it."

"Don't they have to be turned on, though?"

"No. Those kind are self-contained. All you have to do is dump them in the water and watch them float away."

They were both quiet for a few minutes. McCoy going over and over the plan in his mind, to make sure he wasn't missing anything.

"Uncle Len?" Peter said shyly, grabbing the hem of McCoy's sweatshirt in one hand. "I'm sorry you got kidnapped with me, but I'm glad you're here."

McCoy smiled and reached up to re-ruffle the kid's already messy hair. "I wouldn't trade places with anyone, kid. That way _I_ don't have to worry about you."

_Not like your parents, who must be freaking out now. Or your Uncle Jim, my Pa or John. I'm sure they're all working their asses off to find us._

"Do you think Jet is okay?" Peter asked softly.

McCoy decided to keep the kid's spirits up. "He's probably back at the camp with your parents right now, worried about you."

"Do you worry about Uncle Jim a lot?"

" _All_ the time," McCoy admitted with a laugh. "But he's good at what he does, so I try not to."

"Dad and Mom worry about you guys. And I know David and John do too. Dad says that Uncle Jim would figure out how to get home, no matter how lost he was. Because he's really smart and can think fast on his feet. But he still worries."

"I agree with your dad," McCoy admitted with a smile. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back. All this talking was reminding him of all his facial bruises. "Your Uncle Jim's a smart one. And they worry because they love us."

"My mom and dad are smart too," Peter said with confidence, his voice growing sleepy. He yawned. "They're always figuring things out. Even hard grown-up things."

"Peter, I haven't met a Kirk yet who wasn't sharp as a knife, you and your brother included," McCoy assured him. "When we get you back home, you can show me all the smart things you've been doing at school. And Robby can show me how close he is to walking. Bet I'll be _really_ impressed."

"Okay." Peter sighed. After another few minutes McCoy could feel him slowly grow heavier against his side as the kid fell asleep, one hand still fisted in McCoy's sweatshirt.

 _Now, if only **I** felt that smart, _McCoy thought, closing his eyes. He didn't know if he'd sleep, but he needed to save some energy for tomorrow. _We'll see if I can get that idea to work._ _Or figure something else out. If they come back, I'm not letting them take him again._

***

 

Jim told the others what David had discovered. They waited for David to return and John worked with Sargent Apparanto to give them access to the office shuttle. By the time David's shuttle landed, the forensic crew were done with it. Now that the sun had set, there would be a guard outside the camping area and they would all have to leave for the night. But none of them were ready to go yet.

"Someone wanted you all asleep," John said, pacing back and forth across the length of the shuttle again. "They set this up before you left. Making sure that one of the main meals you'd ordered was dosed with the sleeping agent. The stuff in the water wouldn't hurt anyone and would only work when the spice was used. Now, they couldn't be sure that it _would_ be used, but they seemed willing to take the gamble rather than just jump in and do whatever it was they wanted to do."

"How would they _know_ if we ate it?" Aurelan asked worriedly. "Were they _watching_?"

"They could have been," Jim said. "I've been admiring those huge mesas out there. Someone could have been parked on top of one. With the right equipment, they could have been watching us arrive, what we were doing and listening in. By the time Peter and Bones went missing, they'd have been long gone."

"I think the good news is that they didn't want us harmed," David said with a sigh. "There are lot harsher chemicals they could have used that would knocked you all out at once. It wouldn't have hurt Peter or the baby. It's not like Robby's old enough for chili anyway."

"And if it had worked, we all could have woken up none the wiser," Jim added.

"So, _what_ was it they were here for?" John frowned, still pacing. "Aurelan, you come out here several times a year, right?"

Aurelan, looking worn out but determined nodded her head. "Yes. Every four months."

"And it's scheduled?"

"Yes. I rent the shuttle and sometimes come out with Sam and Peter."

"Even while you've been on maternity leave?"

Aurelan frowned. "No. Actually, someone else has come out for me for the past year. This is my first trip back since I went back to work. I couldn't cancel for Jim and Len's visit and was going to let them visit with Sam and Peter at home. But Sam and I decided to make it a family trip."

"Did you order extra food?"

"No," Aurelan said, shaking her head. "I always ordered a full pantry, then paid for what I didn't use on site and took home. Just in case Sam was able to drop in with Peter while I was out here."

"So, someone knew you were coming, but probably by yourself. With the possibility of Sam and Peter stopping by."

"God," Sam said, rubbing his face. "She might have been here by herself."

Aurelan put her arm through Sam's and leaned against him. They both looked like they would fall over at any minute. Jim felt like he could join them.

"What's here that they could possibly need or want?" John asked out loud, not really addressing it to anyone.

"Something to do with the Wildlife Division?" David asked. "Do they have valuable information?"

"We keep our data secure," Aurelan admitted. "But I don't know how important it would be to outsiders. We haven't had any problems with poaching. We've had some successes and failures since the colony started. How could the details be important?"

"Is it about this _specific_ location?" Jim asked, throwing out any ideas that came to him. "Is there anything valuable in the location, such as minerals or anything someone wants to mine, but can't because of it being a Protected area? So, they need access to the area and the Wildlife Survey gets in the way?"

"I wouldn't know," Aurelan admitted. "It's not my area of study."

"We could look it up," John said, pulling his comm out of his pocket. He froze then, blinking slowly and Jim thought he recognized the _'something just hit him'_ stare he seemed to share with Bones.

John slipped his comm back in his pocket and walked over to Aurelan's borrowed desk. The monitor was set inside the table itself, out of the way and locked into place. The keyboard was under the clear desktop. The combination lock and control area were just to the left, opposite the number pad. John looked at the set-up.

 "Aurelan, did this unit come with the shuttle?"

"Yes, it's wired into the shuttle's frame for better reception. So, the desk and couch don't move in flight. It's programmed for my use when I pick it up and I transfer my regular computer data to it before I leave."

"It's ancient, but serviceable," John muttered. "Do you tend to leave your comm on the desk at night? You sleep on the pull-out couch when you come by yourself, right? You don't camp outside?"

"I sleep in here and set my comm on the desk charging plate," Aurelan said clearly unsure what John was going for.

Jim wondered himself.

"Can you put your comm where you usually place it at night, when you're staying in the shuttle?"

Aurelan got up, pulled her comm out of her pocket and placed it on the charging plate. John nodded that she could sit back down.

"Now, how does anyone sign into your computer?"

Aurelan shrugged at John's question. "Palm print. Just like the ones at work."

"And yours is secure?"

"Of course."

"Uh huh." John looked at the desk again, then pulled his sleeve down over his right hand. Jim and the rest all leaned forward with interest. John picked up Aurelan's comm, careful not to actually touch it with his fingers. He then used his other sleeve to wipe off the security palm-plate of the table and clean it off. He carefully placed Aurelan's phone down on the palm-plate, face up. He left it there and started to tap his covered fingers very softly on the screen of the comm. His drumming reminding Jim of something.

_A heartbeat? A heartbeat! He's tricking it into thinking it's a human palm!_

It took a minute, but suddenly the computer keyboard lit up and the monitor unfolded from the table and settled in front of John.

Surprised, the rest of them got up to come up behind John and see.

"You've signed me in!" Aurelan said in surprise. "It's _not_ supposed to do that."

"Your palm print is on the back of the comm. The motion makes it think it's reading a heartbeat." John looked up at them and frowned. "Ancient hacking trick for the palm-print models, especially with these old computers no one ever bothers to update. Your computers at work are better, but not by much. Deneva needs a quick kick in the ass to get it into the 23rd century, where the real tech lives and plays."

"So, it's something they _couldn't_ get access to from the computers at the Wildlife and Terraforming Division itself," Jim said, suddenly feeling hopeful, "but they _could_ get to the old units on the rented offices, then access the Division's files from here."

"It's more than just that," John said. "Deneva's satellites are all different ages and models. Some are over seventy years old. All the newer satellites, with the newer programming, are over the cities. Those are updated and upgraded. The ones out here," John waved above his head, "Are more for photo-mapping and communication exchange. They're always at the bottom of the improvement list, and no one ever gets to them."

"They wanted access to the Wildlife and Terraforming computers _and_ this specific satellite?" Sam asked. "What could they do with both?"

"For one thing, the Wildlife Division is the only official government division that travels outside the cities much," John said typing various things that Jim couldn't follow on some command screen he'd pulled up from nowhere. "Since the various wildlife populations are watched by professionals, you've got _real_ people coming out here, who need to bring their information. And who need access to their work data. I'll bet that Aurelan's department isn't the only one who rents out these shuttles, but she may be one of a few who come out to this area. And bounce off of one particular satellite."

"What are you doing?" David asked.

"Linking it to my new monster machine at home."

"Gramps? Was that the huge metal box you had installed last week in your basement?" David asked with astonishment. "That wasn't a _computer_ , was it? Computers are _tiny_."

"Yeah, it was." John smiled evilly as he typed furiously. "One of the best super-computers on the market. First thing I bought from the hospital. Direct from New Vulcan itself, tailored to my specifications. I call it _Alfred_ and it's now living in my _Bat Cave_."

Sam, David, Aurelan and Jim exchanged glances over John's shoulder, then looked at David. He shrugged, as if he didn't recognize the reference either.

"I'm checking my records. These satellites can be like Swiss cheese, full of holes and hackable with a toy hover-car controller. I hadn't gotten around yet to listing their weakness' for.... _There_! There it is."

Jim saw a technical drawing of a satellite come up, along with a long list of specs and diagnostic information.

"Damn," Jim said, "That _is_ ancient. What about that?" He pointed to some of the specs of the satellite. "When was that last updated?"

John pulled up another screen and frowned. "Shit. Years."

"Why? What does it do?" Sam asked.

"It's an old sub-space relay," John said grimly. "With the Wildlife and Terraforming Division's access, someone could be sending subspace messages. Ones without any record or oversight." John looked up at Jim. "Someone could be calling home and home ain't in the Federation. This thing could reach the Klingon-Federation neutral zone, by-passing any the new channels that Starbase 10 would see.

"Spies?" Aurelan said anxiously. "We're caught up with spies?"

" _Not_ saying we are," John said quickly. He pulled up more files. "But it would explain why someone wanted to make use of this area and this computer's connection to the Wildlife and Terraforming Division."

"Can you tell what might have been sent?" Jim asked.

"It's got a tiny buffer, but no one should be using it. I'm trying to get a response from it, to see if it still holds the last info stored there." John sighed. "Could be stuff from sixty years ago and we're chasing a wild goose."

"Then we'll _know_ ," Jim said, squeezing John's shoulder. "Knowing which information we _don't_ need to follow up will save us time."

All four of them watched John type in symbols and words that might as well have been a foreign language to the rest of them.

A blank screen popped up and John stopped. After a moment, a flood of text and symbols popped up. It looked like garbage.

_But if it's in code, it **would** look like garbage. The old sub-space frequencies were based on the old binary system and anyone who could catch them could read them. Now, they're multi-layered and multi-dimensional for security purposes. But the old stuff would have to be sent in some simple, old-fashioned code to keep those who came across it from reading it easily. _

" _Shit_." John pointed out some bits at the end. "They couldn't keep the old programming from time-stamping it. Whatever this is, it went out last night. About two a.m. our time."

"So, they _were_ after the computer and the satellite connection," Sam said, looking devastated. "They were spies."

"But what were they sending?" Aurelan asked, close to tears.

"I don't know," John replied, scrolling through the text. "I'll have to check this out on my system at home."

"Wait!" David said. He reached over John and pointed at a bit of the screen. "Sam? Look at this part."

"That's one of our code numbers!" Sam leaned closer. "That's got to be something from _our_ biology lab. All the prefixes are based on what microbes we're studying and testing. That's one of ours."

"And it's one I've seen. I'm sure of it!" David said. "I'm helping Sam's lab out with the testing of certain strains as bio-filters for the xenonoses class of virus. I don't know which one that code represents, but I know I've seen it."

"It's the field of study Len suggested to me, when we first met," Sam said. "It's had some important results come out of the testing. So, we're still following it up."

"Oh, God," Jim said, possibilities running through his head. "Aurelan, one of the things you study is the migration habits of the birds you introduce, right?"

"Yeah," Aurelan replied. "Because their natural instincts could go badly wrong, with this not being Earth, our lack of Earth-type winters and our magnetic pole in a different location. We..."

Aurelan drifted off for a second, then she looked at Jim. "If someone wanted to bring Deneva down, they could infect our migrating animals. Something nasty could be spread that way. Across the whole planet. To the cities."

"Guys?" John asked softly, looking grave. "I need to get all this info to Officer Quintos as soon as possible. He's my new boss at Digital Defence. This is _huge._ We'll need to bring a lot of other departments in on this as well. And we'll need my work computer at home. If we're right, we've stumbled on something that could get very nasty, very quickly. We need to head back. Now."

"I _don't_ want to leave," Sam said simply. Both he and Aurelan looked devastated.

"I _know_ ," Jim said with sympathy and shared fear. "But John's right. Peter and Bones aren't here and probably aren't on their way back. We need to get people out of bed and working on this. It'll be easier in the city."

"I'll be contacting _everyone_ I can drag out of bed, while we're on the way," John promised kindly. "But we need help and better tools to follow all this to Peter and Len."

"You're right. We can't afford to waste time," Aurelan said, taking a deep breath. Jim could see the determination in her eyes to keep going. "Let's go."

 

 

***

 

 

Jim lay across the couch in John Grimm's apartment. The living room was in near darkness, with only the glow of a small kitchen light keeping it from being complete. Holly was curled up in the space between his legs, her head on Jim's thigh. Xena and Gabriella lay on his chest and stomach. The two striped tabbies, one orange and one dark gray, were curled up and sound asleep. Jim had tried to sleep but couldn't. He was glad for the company.

On the edge of Proctor, the old-fashioned brick building was in a nice, but old, part of the city. The building itself one of those built in the first 100 years of the colony and had been everything from an office, a grocery market, a hotel and then an apartment building with hover-car parking in the drive-in basement. It needed so much work to modernize it and had sat empty for so long, that it had gone for a low price. Well, low for John Grimm's type of credit stash. Four stories, it had contained six apartments per floor. John had gotten the approval to enlarge the rooms to four apartments per floor and had already started upgrading it. At the front was a short street and the basement's parking entrance. On two sides of the apartment building were small, age-established wedges of parkland between the apartment and the buildings next door. The back of the building held a large, private yard, with a security fence that butted up against one of Proctor's larger parks. Ten acres of well-tended parkland gave those with rear rooms a wonderful view. It was a sturdy building in a great spot, just showing its age a little.

John hadn't had it more than a couple of months but had already managed to close off half of the basement, have new wiring installed and had converted one of the first floor, front corner apartments for his own. The furnishings were new but meant to be comfortable in an old-Earth style. The kitchen had top-of-the-line appliances, the dining table large and cluttered with John's things, mostly computer related. Across from the large privacy windows was a master bedroom with its own 'fresher system and a guest room that shared another 'fresher with the rest of the apartment. The whole apartment felt huge to Jim.

On arrival, Jim landed John's shuttle on the roof while John burned up his comm. John had parked Sam and Aurelan in his guest bedroom and given Jim the run of the apartment. There had been a nice young pet sitter John had paid off. Then John had shown Jim the secret entrance to his 'Bat Cave', consisting of a hidden and securely locked spiral staircase in one corner, where one whole wall panel popped open to allow access. Jim had followed him and David down to the half-basement John had walled off and security shielded. There John had gone to his desk and started in on his own computer, still getting things started over his comm. Jim had looked around in wonder at the computer John had named 'Alfred' and the rest of his computer equipment. The stuff in the basement would give the Enterprise's system some competition. Spock would be seriously jealous to see this civilian setup.

Credits may not buy happiness, but with enough of them they sure could give you a head start on finding it.

Jim had contacted the Starfleet liaison again, updating their situation. He then realized they'd all missed dinner. Sam and Aurelan had taken Robby and his portable crib and had gone to bed, or Jim would have made them dinner as well as for himself, John and David. It wasn't much, and no one ate a lot of it. But it gave him something to do.

Then, Jim had left John and David alone, seeing all the signs of busy people who knew their business and didn't want to be interrupted.

So, Jim had fed the animals, who didn't seem to mind a meal at two a.m., cleaned the litter box and had lain down on the couch to try to rest. Holly had settled down first, content to be with him if she couldn't be with David. The white, fluffy dog with the black spots, a dark patch over one eye and droopy ears, seemed to accept him as a friend. Thirty minutes after she settled, Xena and Gabby had jumped up on him and settled down themselves.

He scratched Gabby behind one ear and she started to purr. The two kittens were three months old and littermates. John had skipped all the Denevan waiting lists, buying the kittens from a transport with ship cats and a new litter looking for other homes. John said he'd paid extra to convince the captain that he'd give the two a good home. Which was all fine and legal as long as John had them spayed in another few months. Jim had a feeling that _Bat Cave, Alfred, Xena_ and _Gabriella_ were names from John's past and meant something to him. He'd smiled a bit when quickly introducing Jim to them, as if the names were a joke he expected them all to catch on to.

Jim wondered if David knew the references. Right now, he was too tired to look them up himself.

_I'm so out of my depth here, without the ship. I know Admiral Roberts said she'd get the Enterprise back as soon as she could, but that they were transporting vital medicines for Starfleet Medical. The other ships are on border patrols. It's been less than 24 hours since we even knew they were gone. I can't expect miracles. I just wish there was more I could do._

_And we need to keep up hope. If they'd wanted Peter and Bones dead, there would have been no one to stop them from killing them at the site. If they took them, then maybe they think they can use them as bargaining chips later. Or ransom, if they know about John's stash. Bones will figure something out, to get help. He's smart that way._

Jim heard steps on the basement stairs. Someone paused at the top.

"I'm awake," Jim said quietly.

Someone walked over, and Jim saw David's silhouette come around the couch and sit in a chair by Jim's head. Holly thumped her tail against Jim's leg when she saw David. She got up from her spot with Jim and went to sit on David's lap. She was just big enough David had to move a bit to give her more room.

"Jim? I'm on my way over to wake up Sam, so he can check over my findings," David said. He sounded worried and tired. "John's got people checking both ConLab and the Wildlife Division. But it looks like ConLab and the Wildlife Division have been compromised. There's evidence that that last transmission was sent toward the asteroid belt. John said it could be anyone out there; Denevan, Federation, Independent contractors mining in the area, or just freight or local traffic traveling by. I'm sure the file numbers listed in the transmission are for the experiments on the way Deneva's microbes can be used to filter viruses. Sam's been coming really close to a breakthrough in that area. Starfleet Medical has been really interested and pressing Sam hard to bring samples to their 'Virus and Contagion Control Center' for further testing. Sam and I need to check the files and see who had access. And we can only do that if we go to the lab."

"Someone's been keeping an eye on his research," Jim said. "Sending out reports on it. Someone hack in?"

"No," David replied. "ConLab brought in its own, secure computer network to be used on site. Paid big money for it, so that they could access various medical and biological information without connecting to the outside world, for security and future patent reasons. They're totally cut off and no one is allowed to take their work home with them. Not even John can find a way in."

"So, it's an inside job."

"I think so. _Someone's_ been leaking his research. Sam and I need to start checking out the access reports to the labs. Find out who's had access to the various files, what time of day, and so forth."

"Any suspicions yet?" Jim asked. "You've been in there and have met everyone."

"I do, but I want Sam to confirm it. There's one reference in there from an experiment that's not even quite finished yet. There's only a few people who have hands-on access to it, let alone been able to put together a preliminary report on it. One of the main microbiologists that works with Sam. He's a friend."

"Shit," Jim said with a sigh. He carefully sat up, taking a hand full of kitten and handing it to David before picking up the other kitten. Xena barely woke up, but Gabby meowed questioningly. Holly jumped down from David's lap as he stood. "I'll go with you. Is John going?"

"No. He's got his Digital Defense people going over the Wildlife Division's databases now, to see how they got in and if it was an inside job as well. And another set of DoDD crew working with that satellite to see what they can get from it before they lock up the software for good. They may need to actually take it from orbit, even though that'll leave a hole in their network coverage of Deneva. There may be hardware on it we don't know about. But John thinks that decoding that transmission will be easier if we can figure out what they were looking at, besides the microbe test reports."

"If they can find enough matches between the two, they'll have the code key to decrypting it," Jim said, looking at the time. "It'll be daylight in a couple of hours. Sam's going to need something to eat on the way. You wake them up and I'll put together some sandwiches to take with us. We may be gone for a while."

"Good," David said, standing and stretching. "You can pilot John's shuttle. He's set all his vehicle and apartment locks to open to all the family. That way we can come and go as we need."

David took a few steps toward John's guestroom. "Just wish I could wake them up with better news."

"They're probably not even asleep," Jim said as he went to the kitchen. The animals followed him hopefully. "They'll probably be desperate to help. I know I am."

David just nodded, squinting in the sudden light from the kitchen and went to Sam and Aurelan's door. He looked tired and old.

_He's worn down. We all are. It'll soon be twenty-four hours since we found them missing._

_Feels like a millennia._

 

***

 

McCoy heard the whispered movement of air caused by the shuttle at the same time he saw its outline in the early morning light. The sky had just started to lighten up when he saw it. The small craft itself was deadly silent. A two-man job, with a cargo hold in the back, McCoy took that as a sign that maybe they wouldn't be outnumbered.

He shook Peter awake, holding a hand over his mouth so the kid wouldn't make any noise. Peter woke with a jolt, his eyes wide. McCoy held a finger over his mouth and pointed toward the landing pad. Peter nodded.

McCoy stood carefully, hiding behind the outcropping with the hammer in hand as he watched the shuttle land on the pad. One person got out, but he could see someone else in the cockpit.

_Damn it! How do I know if they're the bad guys or the good guys? If it'd been just one, I could have just grabbed Peter and taken off in the shuttle. But I don't know if I can get down there and get into the cockpit before they notice._

The first person, a woman, was dressed all in black and walked swiftly to the door of the building. Deciding it was worth a try, McCoy quickly climbed down from his hiding place, toward the back of the shuttle, staying out of the pilot's sight. He tried to walk quietly, but the tape on his feet made sounds as the plastic hit the concrete.

 _All in or all out,_ he decided, taking the hammer's head in one hand and the end of the handle in the other.

He hit the entry panel with his elbow. Holding his breath in case it didn't open, he lurched forward as soon as it did.

The short distance between the door and the cockpit meant the pilot didn't have time to even look to see who was behind him when McCoy put the hammer over the pilot's head and pulled the wooden handle up against his neck. The man, still buckled in his chair, grabbed at the hammer with both hands. He choked out a cry as McCoy pulled up, stretching the man's body between his choke-hold and the seat belt.

_No weapons. Is he the rescue party?_

"Who are you and why are you here?" McCoy asked with a hiss.

The man pawed at the hammer's handle, so McCoy pulled harder. "Hands down!"

The man lowered his hands a bit after McCoy backed off on choking him.

"I'm Davis. Albert Davis! I work here!"

"Doing what?"

"Micro--" The man coughed. "Microbiology!"

"Then you know the boss?" McCoy asked.

"Su-- sure. Sam Kirk."

_If he works with Sam, then he'll know Peter. But... how do I know he's not the person who brought us here? Someone knew about this place being empty. I don't know who the hell to trust. Maybe I just don't trust him too far._

"Good," McCoy said with pretend relief, releasing the hammer's head and pulling it away from the man's neck. He kept it balanced in his left hand as he stepped back. "Sam is my brother-in-law and I was kidnapped and trapped here! You have to contact the authorities and let them know I'm okay!"

The pilot turned to look at him, rubbing at his neck. "You're his brother-in-law? Man, there's been search parties out for you and his kid most of yesterday and this morning." Davis unbelted his seat restraint and moved to stand up. He glanced outside the cockpit window. "So, where's the--"

McCoy swung the hammer, alerted by Davis' movement toward him and away from the comm channels where he could have, should have, immediately called for help.

Davis was ready and grabbed the hammer, trying to twist it out of McCoy's hand. Then it became a brawl as the two-body slammed each other, both fighting for control in the small shuttle. They bounced off the walls as they fought. With the tape making his footing uncertain, McCoy ended up on the floor, pulling Davis down with him. But he took the man by surprise, when in one twisted maneuver McCoy found himself by the man's head and bit his ear savagely. The man yelled angrily in pain and pushed McCoy away, then socked him in the already bruised eye socket and nose. The pain rocked McCoy, but he saw an opening and kneed the man in the balls, throwing Davis to the side as he doubled up.

"Stop!" McCoy heard a woman yell, then a flash of a stunner took him out.

When McCoy woke up, he was on the floor. Again. His head and face throbbing. There was something over most of his mouth, making it hard to breathe. His hands were once again behind him, this time in what felt like metal handcuffs and his ankles were cuffed as well.

_Fuck! Where's Peter?_

He tried to twist to look around him, his good eye being too close to the floor to see much. He tried to breathe through his nose, but the bubble of sticky blood making his sinus' thick made it even harder. His nose was broken for sure.

He was in the back 'fresher of the building. Alone.

 **_Damn_ ** _it. I should have just beaned the guy, grabbed Peter and taken off. Jim would have known by **looking** at him if he was part of the rescue party or the bad guys. I just hope this means Peter is still safe and hidden. Maybe he's found a way up and over those cliffs. But I hope he's not trying to find his way through those tunnels! _

He straightened out and rolled over to his other side, trying to get a better look around the 'fresher. As he did so, the door banged open.

The woman he'd seen come out of the shuttle strode in, a phaser in her hand. Illegal on Deneva, she must be getting some help from off planet.

_Apparently, kidnapping and breaking into an office shuttle isn't the only illegal thing she's into. Phasers are horribly expensive on the black market. She and her pilot must have been the two that kidnapped us in the first place._

"Where is he! Where's the kid!" She demanded angrily, ripping the tape off of his mouth and pointing the phaser at him. "I'll fry you out of existence if you don't tell me. I know damn well how to switch it from stun to kill."

McCoy just smiled at her.

"Bastard!" The woman took two steps forward and kicked him hard in the stomach. He gasped and gagged but didn't say anything.

_Smart kid! He'll make himself scarce. Let's just hope he's curled up in a hole somewhere. If they take off with me, or fry me, then at least he knows where the ration bars and bottled water are._

She turned and walked away, slamming the 'fresher door behind her.

McCoy closed his eyes and concentrated on getting over the pain. If he was going to figure a way to get out of the cuffs, he was going to have to have a clear head.

 

***

 

Jim paced the back of the microbiology office of ConLab, the only clear spot in the long room filled with desks, computers and the bits and pieces of scientific equipment on its way from one room to another. Jim and Bones had been in the lab once before, when fresh from their honeymoon. Sam, head manager of ConLab, was a hands-on researcher and manager and had given over his rights to a private office for more research space. Sam's desk was at the back, by the door to the lower caverns and labs where all his people would walk by him and see him working.

He seemed well liked by the other researchers, everyone feeling welcomed to come and talk to him at any time. Most now shot Sam concerned glances, not having been told of what had happened yesterday. They could tell that the three of them were agitated and Sam's questions blunt. None of them knew what was going on and Jim could only see concern in their eyes for their manager.

_He's such a nice guy. Peter's such a good kid. He needs to come home. I just wish I could do more than shuttle them back and forth._

_And Bones will be okay. Whatever is going on, he's taking care of Peter. I just wish it had been me rather than him. Being on this end of a horrible event is terrible. Feeling helpless even worse._

The other desks were mostly full, some having the day off. Deneva had a six-day week, two of those days off as rest days, along with the 36 days in each of their eleven months. A four day "New Year" filled out their 400-day solar year and rounded it up nicely. People's workdays fell in one of three workgroups, Unu, Du or Tri. Families usually shared the same workday group, so that all members had the same two days off. This way, there were no real 'weekends'. Here, one-third of the population was always on a break. So, while it was normal for some portion of the staff to be out of the office or lab, it also meant the lab and office were in use every single day. Leaving only the hours after closing for someone to delve into files they shouldn't.

_If someone from here is a spy, they'd have to do their spying at night. Sam said that the person who'd have access to the results of experiments that hadn't even been reported yet is on Rest Day. Albert Davis is a fairly recent immigrant from Troxia Seven. Been on Deneva for only a couple of years. Sam said that Davis asked to switch Rest Days with a colleague._

_If he switched them to match the date Aurelan was going to be at the research site, then maybe he's got a colleague at the Wildlife Terraforming Division who's switched to match him. Then they wouldn't be missed if out late at night._

_Maybe I should comm John. I know he's already put the law out to look for Davis and he's probably thought of looking at someone switching days off in Aurelan's Department._

_But maybe he hasn't._

_And maybe I just want to feel like I can **do** something. _

Just then a shy looking man came up to Sam's desk, PADD in hand. He nodded at Jim, while waiting for Sam's attention. Sam and David were studying a report, trying to figure out if it had been accessed at night and who by.

"I'm sorry?" The man said.

Sam looked up and frowned. "Yes, Twain?"

"We're getting readings from the stream tracers. We have micro-sensors flowing out of the zeta site."

"Can't be," Sam said, looking confused. "We've stopped following that stream system after settling on _this_ site."

"But stream tracers at the Theta, Iota and Rho sites are recording micro-sensor flow, and those areas all receive flow from the zeta site," Twain said with a shrug. "Even though we closed it down, I'm still getting--"

"Wait," Jim said excitedly. "Sam? Is the zeta site closed?"

"Yes," Sam said. "For a year now. We don't..." Sam's eyes widened. "Do you think--?"

"I don't know." Jim pulled out his comm and used John's private number.

"Jim?" John's voice over the comm sounded excited. "I was just going to comm you."

"John, we have a lab site that was closed down last year, but someone has used some stream--"

" _Micro-sensors_ ," Sam interjected, getting up out of his chair. "Davis knew about the site. We've all been there, but no one goes there anymore."

"Micro-sensors from the Zeta site ConLabs used," Jim repeated into the comm. "No one's supposed to be there. Do we have a tie into some place like that? Do we know who hacked the Wildlife Department?"

"We've been tracing an Abithra Rin, a co-worker of Aurelan's," John said excitedly. "Just now found traces of her in the Department's migration files, where she shouldn't be. Law Enforcement just sent us some public-vids of her apartment building and we've got one of Albert Davis picking her up to take her to work. So, they know each other. _Rin_ was the one who had taken over those survey trips for Aurelan when she was on maternity leave. And Rin switched her Rest Day as well."

"John, we're heading to the Zeta site," Jim said, starting to jog to the exit. Sam and David behind him. "Albert Davis fits the bill on this end. Rin on yours."

"What's the location?"

Sam yelled the coordinates into the comm as they ran down the halls to John's shuttle outside.

"I'm sending DLE up," John said, "I'll let them know you're on your way as well, so they won't shoot you down."

"They'd have to catch up first," Jim vowed, cutting off the connection as they came up to the shuttle.

Whatever his fastest time for shuttle system's check and launch was, Jim beat it.

 

 

 

***

 

 

Leonard McCoy had finally gotten his hands in front of him. Again. This time the metal cuffs gave him more leeway than the plastic ties, but the bruises from the last time had made his wrists swell a bit. And his head hurt, and his black eye had swollen shut again making it hard to focus. Figured he'd gotten a concussion in there somewhere too. With his hands in front of him, he ripped the utility tape off of his feet, taking some skin with it and was trying to force his now smaller ankle through the cuff. He wasn't going to get anywhere if he couldn't walk or run, and he had no idea how to open them. He might be able to dislocate a thumb to get a hand out of the handcuffs, but he needed two good hands to try to get his ankles free.

_If I can just get one foot out, I can get to that mirror and break it. Maybe a shard would be big enough to use as a knife. Use some of that tape I took off my feet around one end as a handle. Then rush those bastards before they decide what to do with me. Slow them the hell down if they come at me or get ahold of Peter. At least, leave my DNA around where they won't see it to clean it up. Under the sinks or up on the walls. Someone does a scan of the room they'll find it. I doubt the bad guys will stay around long enough to clean everything up. The woman's getting damned close to using that kill setting. I'm not sure the guy will be able to keep talking her out of it._

McCoy could hear the two arguing in the large, empty room which echoed the odd word back to him. He couldn't hear the whole conversation, but he did catch enough to let him know that the two knew they'd fucked up and needed to get off planet. Now. Sounded like the woman was freaking out that her credit accounts were frozen. And that someone off planet who was supposed to be contacting them hadn't. Both were concerned that the authorities were on to them and maybe they should have just stunned both him and Peter at the scene and left the planet. The women seemed to blame the man for their bad decisions and was fighting with him about whether to turn the kidnap victims into hostages or not.

And they talked like they knew the Kirk family, which means they were probably spying from inside the Wildlife Division and ConLabs. Maybe even knew Aurelan and Sam personally.

_By their arguing, they don't sound like professional spies. Pros would have known how to handle intruders. They sound like people who had some access to info and found a buyer. They sure hadn't thought past the credits someone was paying them for information. Then they messed it up and now can't slip away off planet like they thought they could. Hope that means Jim and the family have them pegged and are on the way. If they can figure out **where** these two took us. I should have put those micro-sensors in the water **last night**! But if it was our one chance of signaling someone, I didn't want to waste it. _

_Damn it, Jim's better at this crazy, dangerous shit than I am._

The woman had come in a few times, threatening and screaming at McCoy to tell them where Peter was. Each time he'd just smiled at her and took her hits. Because every time she asked meant Peter was still free and every time she came in to ask, the pilot had stood outside and pulled her back and tried to calm her down. Which meant neither of them was outside, looking for Peter.

And the longer Peter stayed free, the further he could be from these two.

Suddenly, he heard the woman shout and voices from the outside, on some sort of speaker, boomed through the building.

**"Come outside! With your hands up!"**

The woman shouted something at the man about hostages and McCoy heard running in his direction. Giving up on trying to get his feet out of the cuffs, he quickly lay down on his back and pretended to be unconscious. When the door to the 'fresher opened, the man saw him and cursed. The man went to McCoy's head and leaned down to grab McCoy under his armpits to pull him up and drag him out of the 'fresher. When the man started to pull him up, McCoy reached up with his cuffed hands, grabbed the man's collar and with all his weight pulled him suddenly forward and down. McCoy had intended to flip the man forward, onto his back, but the unbalanced captor landed head first on the hard floor beside McCoy, knocking himself out with a loud thunk.

 _May not have been the most graceful move on my part, but good enough!_ McCoy thought happily as he searched the man's pockets. _Where's those stupid keys? Cuffs always come with keys, don't they? Ah. Here!_

McCoy unlocked the cuffs from his feet and wrists, then searched the man for a weapon. He didn't have one. Not even a penknife.

_Damn it, she must have the only phaser. How far away is she?_

Outside, McCoy could still hear what must be Deneva Law Enforcement demanding that everyone inside surrender. The woman had gone quiet, apparently waiting for the man to bring their hostage to her. She was closer to the back of the building than the front and stood tense as she held the phaser up in front of her, ready to hit anyone who tried to come through the entry door or roll up the heavy utility doors.

 _Not much else to do but run for it,_ McCoy decided. Suddenly, while his kidnapper's attention was still on the other side of the building, McCoy took off and ran like the devil, putting every bit of strength he had into it. She must have heard the pounding steps coming toward her, because she had just started to turn and bring the phaser around to cover herself when McCoy plowed into her.

He hit her with all his strength and speed, sending her body across the floor and his along with her. The pain of the impact with her and then the floor on his already bruised body and broken nose almost knocked him out. But he'd aimed himself like a cannonball and hit her in a way that sent the phaser flying out of her hand and skidding across the concrete floor.

For a second, nothing happened, both of them stunned from the impact. Then McCoy tried to get up, seeing that she was gathering herself to do the same. And instead of racing her to the phaser resting halfway across the building, knowing he was just about out of steam, he walked up to her just as she was getting ready to sprint to the weapon and he decked her. Hard.

Her head snapped back at the blow and she fell like a brick back down to the floor. She was out. Blinding pain ran up his arm.

 _I think I broke my damned hand. Don't ever remember hitting a woman before,_ he thought fuzzily as he gulped air and walked to the phaser. _Oh yeah, I have. Hit a Romulan with a slingshot once. Wasn't that on another vacation? Oh, yeah, Risa. That's a scary trend._

Picking up the phaser, he walked to the outside door and opened it slowly. Outside, with his one good eye, he could see three Law Enforcement hover-cars circling the front of the building. He figured probably more around the back.

**"Put the weapon down!"**

McCoy tossed the phaser as far as he could and held his hands up as he walked forward.

**"Hit the ground! Now!"**

_Again? I just got up **off** the damned ground. _

But he obeyed orders and was soon surrounded by talking people and flashing lights which made his head hurt even more.

Between one blink and another, he realized he was on a stretcher of some type and was being moved by two men in white. He realized Jim was beside him, looking all serious and concerned. "Peter..." McCoy began, remembering that he was still missing.

"He's here, Len," Sam said from his other side.

When McCoy turned to look, he saw Sam holding Peter close to him, just a few steps away. Both looked at him with concern.

Then McCoy realized what Peter had done.

" _Smart_ kid. _Sharp_ as a knife," McCoy told Sam, his voice sounding thick and slow, even to his own ears. He tried to smile at Peter. "Got those micro-sensors in the stream, _all on your own_. Did _good_ , Peter."

"Don't try to talk," Jim chided, making McCoy turn his head back. Jim gave him a worried smile. "They're taking you to the hospital. Behave yourself, Doctor."

"'M on _vacation_ ," McCoy said with a sigh as he closed his good eye and relaxed. "Don't _have to_ behave."

"And your Pa says otherwise, young man!" David's voice came from the other side of the stretcher. Sam and Peter were gone, and David McCoy was in their place. His Pa winked at him. "Don't make me have to verbally parent you in front of my colleagues, boy. 'Cause I'll raise holy high hell on you if I have to."

"Damn it, Pa," McCoy groused, taking his father's hand. "You _never_ let me have any _fun_."

A few minutes later, they got McCoy plugged into all kinds of med-scanners on the Emergency shuttle, his Pa in the seat at his feet. He thought he saw Jim whispering to his Pa before they closed the door and shut Jim out. Then the Emergency Response tech gave him something that made all the pain go away and he happily slipped into sleep, his Pa moving up to the closer seat and holding his hand as he did.

 

***

 

Jim sat quietly in the hospital waiting room, right outside Peter's room. Sam and Aurelan were inside, talking to Peter and approving the various tests the doctors wanted to do, just in case. A few rooms down from the waiting room, Bones was being treated by David. Jim would be in there with Bones, but David had shooed Jim away, saying that setting Leonard's nose and tending to his wounds was something David could do in his sleep. David had teased Jim, saying he just didn't want Jim catching him napping.

_If there's anyone I can trust with Bones, it's his father. At least they didn't find anything that some regen and a few days sleep and rest won't cure. But what the hell had they put him through? They beat the hell out of him._

Bones had been almost unrecognizable, with the bruising and swelling on his face. His wrists and ankles were torn and deeply bruised. And those were just the wounds Jim had been allowed to see.

_He did good, though. Peter's fine, and just having standard tests now. He protected Peter when he needed it. And he told Peter his plan, so when he was captured Peter knew what he could do while the bad guys were busy with him. Sneak back into the caves, grab a flashlight, turn the lights off, grab the box of leftover micro-sensors, make his way down to the stream and dump them into it. Then stay hidden. That's one brave kid. Smart. Takes after his Dad._

As if on cue, Sam came out of Peter's room and sat next to Jim. Jim wondered if he looked as strung out as Sam did.

"He'll be fine," Sam said with relief. "Another few hours and we can take him home. But I'm worried about how he'll handle this in the future. This was a huge deal for him, even with Len there to protect him. And he's upset about Jet being missing."

"I know," Jim said. "I was hoping that Jet was with them. But I guess they didn't want to mess with a dog."

"Why didn't they just leave him?" Sam asked.

Jim shrugged. "Maybe they wanted us to assume what we did. That Jet had run off overnight and Bones and Peter followed him. It did slow us down on figuring out what had happened. Maybe if I'd had you call in the Rescue Services earlier--"

"No, no, don't do that," Sam said, reaching over to put a hand on Jim's leg, gripping it firmly. "We all went with what we thought had happened. It won't do any good to second guess ourselves."

Jim rubbed his tired eyes. He felt worn out and dirty. He needed some sleep and a shower. And some food.

"You're going to regret getting back in contact with me," Jim said softly as he closed his eyes. "Seems like Bones and I bring all kinds of trouble with us."

"No," Sam said. "I'll _never_ regret trying to contact you. And I was thinking about what we talked about earlier. About you and Len quitting."

Jim tensed, not really having the strength to defend their decision again.

"Jim, this all probably would have happened without you and Len here. Aurelan might have been alone. Or had Peter, Robby and Jet with her. Maybe all four of us. We went with her whenever we could. And we might or might not have interrupted them. But none of this was because you and Len were here. And I think maybe that's what the rest of your adventures, or misadventures, are about. You and the Enterprise are out there to take care of the dangerous things that are going to happen anyway, whether you're there or not."

Sam gave Jim a smile. "Maybe the universe is working hard to make sure you're in the right place, at the right time, to make a difference."

Jim huffed, and gave Sam a teasing smile. "You think the universe hates us that much?"

"I think it must _like_ you that much," Sam said putting an arm around Jim's shoulders. "You're still _alive_ , in spite of everything you've been through. And it's let you keep Len, in spite of all the things that could have separated you. I know that there are a lot of beings still alive because the Enterprise is out there, doing what it's supposed to do. I just have to get used to the idea that if you, or you both, don't make it back then it was for something you decided was worth your life. I have to respect that, even if it scares the shit out of me. I need you in my life, little brother. We all do."

A wave of love washed over Jim, threatening to make him tear up. He took a breath and nodded his head. Jim reached up to his shoulder and grabbed Sam's hand, giving it a squeeze. "Thanks, Sam. We need you all too. It's nice to know that we have a home to come back to someday."

"But, I _do_ have one request," Sam said. "You said that I, or Peter, could inherit your 'treasure' box someday if you don't come back. If you don't, we won't have the stories that go with those items. While you're here, in private if you want, could you record those stories? Put a recording in the box? I'd rather hear them from you in person, someday. But if that's not meant to be, I'd still like to hear, and have Peter and Robby hear, the stories. In your voice. And I'm sure Len would want to hear them himself if he hasn't already. Just hearing your voice... might make the bad things easier to accept."

"Yeah. Yeah. I can do that. Before Bones and I leave."

Just then, they heard a commotion from down the hall and around the corner.

"But you can't bring _him_ in here!" A man said with exasperation.

"Bob, it's just for a _minute!"_ John's voice came to them. "It's _therapy!_ You don't want to interrupt a kid's emotional therapy, do you?"

" _Mister_ Grimm," the young man said, coming around the corner with John. In John's arms was a struggling and excited black puppy. "We _have_ therapy animals. You _know_ that. But _this_ puppy isn't--"

"Let him through, Bob! You _know_ him. He won't go away," David's voice boomed down the hallway. Jim, standing with Sam and heading for John, looked back at David who was smiling at them all. " _Five_ minutes, John! Then take Jet outside. I can only keep security out of this for so long."

"You got it, David!" John said with a grin as he came up to Jim and Sam. Jet was ecstatic and John had to fight to keep hold of the squirming dog. "Found this guy in Davis' apartment. Guess he couldn't 'get rid of' the dog when Rin ordered him to. Here," John started to hand Sam the puppy.

"No," Sam said, holding his hands up with a smile. " _You_ can be Peter's hero this time. I'll take Jet outside once Peter sees he's safe."

"I can take him," Jim said. "Peter will be going home before Bones will. That way you can help Aurelan get Peter checked out."

"Clock's ticking," John said with a huge grin as he headed toward the room Sam pointed out.

Jim and Sam stood outside and watched Peter's joyous reunion with his dog.

Sam sighed happily. "Jim, you ever get the feeling we've been blessed with family we really don't deserve?"

"All the time, Sam," Jim said happily, bumping shoulders with his brother. "All the time."

 

 

***

Stardate 2261.4

***

 

 

On the second day after the rescue of the kidnap victims, Jim Kirk found himself half comatose from a full stomach, in a lounge chair parked in the shade of a beautiful tree, with a sleeping baby on his chest.

Give or take a few hours either way, considering the time difference between Deneva and Earth, he was now twenty-nine years old.

They were holding the party in the large private yard behind John Grimm's apartment building. Sam had grilled a ton of food for them on the old-fashioned bar-b-que, which filled the area with the smell of cooked meat and charcoal. Aurelan and Peter had baked him a cake, with Peter's handiwork clear in the blue icing words on the white frosting wishing him a _'Happy Birthday, Uncle Jim!'_ on the top. David had given him a hug and John had brought his kittens out to play. The sun was shining, the sky clear and blue, the air was warm, and the sounds of children playing in the park behind the privacy fence mixed with the sounds of Sam, Aurelan and Peter playing fetch with the dogs.

With a beer and a now-empty plate of birthday cake on the small table on one side of him, his husband in the lounge chair on the other, and the rest of the family spread out around him, Jim felt more than just contentment as he patted the sleeping baby's back. He felt at home.

This was the birthday to beat all other birthdays. What more could a man ask for?

Bones now dozed under a blanket David had taken from inside and placed over him. He looked almost normal, with most of the swelling and bruising gone. Bones had spent all day yesterday at the hospital under his father's care, as Jim and John had made trips in and out to check on them while trying to track down the activities of the spies. The hospital staff usually didn't let family treat family, but David could be a mountain of stubbornness when he wanted to be. The staff who were supposed to be in charge had given up on moving him out of the way and just let him test and treat his son as he saw fit.

Bones would be completely fine in another day or so. Until then, he was to rest, take his pain pills, and eat all the bar-b-que and cake he could hold.

So far, it seemed to be working for him.

At the back of the yard, Peter's delighted shriek and the puppies' happy yips drew his attention. The game of fetch had turned into a game of chase, with Peter the target. Jim still remembered the look on Peter's face when John walked into the hospital, trailing annoyed staff behind him, but with a happy puppy in his arms.

Peter now had two new heroes, Bones and John. Jim didn't blame him one bit.

David sat in a lawn chair across from Jim, sipping on his beer, watching the family at play. John was in another lounge chair beside David. Xena and Gabby were also asleep, one cat on John's chest and the other on his shoulder. He sipped carefully at his drink, so he wouldn't disturb his two girls.

"So," David said, eyes still on the game, "you get your mother called like you planned?"

"Yeah, early this morning," Jim said. "Sam joined me and we caught her at the tail end of her day. Talked a bit. She wished me a happy birthday. Chatted." Jim shrugged at the disappointment he felt at the memory. "We told her that we'd had some excitement, with Peter and Bones. She didn't ask, so we didn't tell her any more than that. She's busy doing something she can't talk about. Same old thing, I guess."

"Well, too bad she couldn't make it," David said kindly. "I'm sure she's doing important work."

"Yeah, I'm sure," Jim said neutrally, wanting to change the subject. "John, have they found out anything more about the two spies?"

John nodded carefully, but Xena opened one eye and gave him a disapproving glance from her perch on his shoulder.

"Davis was an immigrant, but Abithra Rin was homegrown. Abithra was approached by some 'strangers' we're following up on to provide information on how our resettlement of Terran species was going, with a focus on the migratory birds. They promised her lots of credits, a better job waiting for her, some excitement... Same old story. They later recruited Davis, who was in some real debt at the time, for information on ConLab's progress on using the microbes as a bio-filter. We figure it was someone out scouting our defenses, which are shit in the computer department, and doing some germ warfare research of their own. Especially dangerous if they could have hacked into ConLab's intranet and gotten into Starfleet Medical through them. Not that they could, since ConLab isn't connected to anyone outside their own offices. But I'm sure someone was keeping their eyes open for opportunities."

"Sam's all ears for whatever changes you suggest for their computer system," David said.

"Smart kid. I'll work up a full, in-depth outline on what changes I think they need when I get a chance," John said. "It'll need to go through my boss, and other official channels, but he'll get it."

"And the migratory information?" Jim asked.

"Like Aurelan said, it looked like a good way to spread something nasty across Deneva, if they'd a mind to," David said. "Wouldn't have to be after the humans, but some of the old-Earth stock is still struggling a bit. Spread something that would wipe them all out and Deneva would be in chaos. Might even release a lot of protected land to mining and such if they gave up on the animals."

"Always someone out there, looking for weak spots," Jim said with a sigh. Robby shifted on his chest, then settled back to sleep.

John nodded. "Rin was the one who took over the surveys for Aurelan while she was on maternity leave. That's when the channels through the satellite system were set up for her. Then she was given the illegal phaser and the unlicensed transporter for their shuttle. They were left to their own devices on how to keep sending information out after Aurelan came back to work. They'd been coached on how to break into the system on the rental shuttle and left to it. Supposed to be a quick in and out and none of us the wiser."

"Why didn't they just hit the area another time?" Jim asked. "It's not like a lot of people go out there."

"When Aurelan came back, she changed the passwords to that system and some others, as regular maintenance. Rin didn't have access to the new ones, so had to hack into Aurelan's computer. Rin needed to be in that account at the same time she sent information to the satellite." John shrugged. "She might have been able to hack around it, but that's not her area. So, she had to camp out and wait for us all to be asleep and Aurelan's computer available. They didn't plan for a twenty-minute operation to get interrupted."

"By those who don't like spicy chili," Jim said with a shake of his head. "We are so lucky they weren't pros."

David and John frowned. They all knew that pros would probably not have left any of them alive if they'd been interrupted.

"Well, I'm going to make sure we don't have any holes left in our computer and technology fields when I'm through." John smiled. "I'm going to tear them down and rebuild them, from scratch if I have too. No one's going to get through our defenses that way."

 _He's saying 'our'. He's really settling in here,_ Jim thought happily. _I'm glad._

"And when Sam comes up with some good medical uses for those microbes, we'll be safer still," David added with a convinced nod.

"What did Sam find?" Bones asked groggily. He yawned and stretched. Blinking sleepy eyes, he looked down in surprise at the blanket over him.

"Working on it," David told him. "He's gonna make a big breakthrough in virology one of these days. I'm sure of it. Just needs the time."

"We could use some big breakthroughs," Bones said with a sigh. "Be nice to have an answer to whatever eventually hits us. Think we're due some good luck that way, any time now."

"Amen to that," David said.

All four were quiet for a few minutes.

"So, David," John said casually, a small, teasing smile on his face as he glanced at David. "When's Helen getting here?"

David shrugged. "Not coming."

"She's not?" John asked in surprise.

"Nope. I uninvited her," David said, frowning. "I'm not seeing her anymore."

"What happened?" Jim asked.

"Yeah, Pa. We were looking forward to meeting her."

"Well, she's a nice lady--"

"Child," John said with a snort.

David threw John an annoyed glare. "She's _not_ a child."

"Leonard," John said, turning to Bones, "your father was trying to rob the cradle."

"Gramps!" David hissed, then looked over to make sure Aurelan, Sam and Peter were still out of earshot. " _You_ should talk! You have _nothing_ on me when it comes to dating younger women."

"I am a dirty _old_ man. I admit that freely," John said with an evil smile. "You're just in denial."

"Wait. Wait," Bones broke in with concern. "Just _how old_ is this ex-girlfriend of yours, Pa?"

" _Girl_ being the operative word," John threw out with a snicker.

"As if her age is anyone's business," David replied grumpily.

"Oh, my God," Bones said studying his father with a look that was half amused and half concerned. "She's _years_ younger, isn't she?"

"Tell him," John said with a laugh. "Go on. You've been fussing about it for weeks. Now's the time to tell your son how old his new Mama might have been."

"I don't think it was ever going to be _that_ serious," David said. "And she's a smart lady. She's an orthodontist and is top of her field."

"And her age is..." John prodded.

"For heaven's sake..." David said reluctantly. "She's a very _mature_ twenty-eight."

"Twenty-eight?" Bones repeated with disbelief. "She's younger than **I** am. She's younger than _Jim!"_

Jim tried not to laugh, not wanting to wake Robby, but he couldn't help but chuckle. He kept his voice low.

"David, you old goat! God, I want to be like _you_ when I get to be your age."

"You do?" Bones gave Jim a mock glare. "You think I'm going to let you _date_ when you're his age?"

" _No_. No I do not," Jim replied quickly, trying to control his amused smile. "I just want to have the _energy_ it takes to date someone that young when I'm his age. Energy I plan on transferring to you as often as humanly possible, until well past one-hundred."

Bones thought about it for a second, then nodded. "Okay, I can live with that. But Pa... _twenty-eight_?"

"Don't be ageist, Leonard," David said shortly, turning a bit red. "She's _very_ mature for her age. A very sweet lady and she likes older men."

"She'd _have_ to," John said under his breath.

"Gramps! I _swear_ \--"

Grinning, John held up his hands in surrender, cutting David off. "She _is_ a nice lady. With a weird kink, is all."

"My age is not a _kink_ ," David grumbled. "It's an _appreciation_ for the finer things in life."

"And she'd have kept you young at heart, until the day you died of sexual exhaustion brought on by _that_ pretty young thing," John said, his eyes twinkling. "Just like this son of yours will, with _his_ pretty young thing. The way _all_ McCoys should go. "

"Oh, God," Bones said with a roll of his eyes. "As if Jim's ego needed _that_ boost."

"Why, _thank you_ , John!" Jim said with a laugh and a wink at John. "I _am_ gorgeous, aren't I? And _young_ , compared to the Old Man I married. I _fully_ intend to bring Bones down with sex. No matter how many decades it takes."

John and Jim laughed, while the two McCoys rolled their eyes in unison.

And despite Jim's best efforts to hold it in, Robby snorted, opened his eyes, and pushed up to look around. Seeing him stir from a distance, Aurelan came over, leaving Sam and Peter playing with Jet as Holly followed her.

"Uh, oh. What'd I miss?" Aurelan asked with a laugh as she took Robby from Jim and looked at their faces. "Have David and John been picking on each other?"

"Yes," David grumbled.

"No," John said with a lying smile. But then he turned serious. "David and Helen broke up."

"Oh, _no_ ," Aurelan said sympathetically, sitting in the lawn chair next to David and juggling Robby. "I'm _sorry_ , David. But I'm also glad it ended sooner rather than later."

"Glad?" David said with surprise. "I thought you liked her?"

"She's _nice_ , just not for _you_ ," Aurelan said with a shrug. "It was the dog hair, right?"

David sighed and nodded as he reached down to scratch Holly behind an ear. She looked up at him adoringly, her tail wagging. "I knew she was a little leery of Holly, and wasn't really into pets. But when she sort of suggested that Holly was young enough to find another good home... Well, _no one_ makes me choose between them and Holly. Not unless the last they want to see of me is my ass walking out the door. _With_ my dog."

"That's as it should be, Pa," Bones said with a nod. "No one messes with family."

"You need to find a pet club," Jim said. "Meet other people with pets. Then you'll know that that requirement has been met, and maybe meet someone there."

"Maybe find someone who's old enough to drive," Bones added with a smirk.

Before David could respond, Sam, Peter and Jet came walking back to the group. They all looked happily tired.

"Well, I think it's time to give Jim his birthday present," John announced to the group.

"Wait. A birthday present?" Jim looked at John with surprise. "But this _party_ was my present. You didn't have to do anything more."

"It's not just a birthday present," John said with a shrug as he stood up. "David, Sam and Aurelan got one too. It's for both you and Len. And in the scheme of things, more for me than you anyway."

"Great!" Sam said with a smile. "It's been killing us not to say anything."

"What? You knew about another present?" Jim asked Sam.

Sam just smiled and shrugged.

John handed a kitten to Sam and one to Peter. "Follow me." John signaled to Jim and Bones.

The three of them walked back into the apartment building. John stopped in the middle of the hallway.

"Now, I know everyone thought I'd look for a place outside the city," John said with a shrug. "But I'd had enough of being the outsider, staying away from populated areas. I realized, during the first long night I had after coming out of that coma, that I missed _people_. I want to be around them, get to know them."

"I can understand that," Bones said. "It's why you bought this old apartment building. You want to be in the city and be a part of it."

"Yeah, that's it," John said with a smile. "It'll take a lot more work, but when I get the other three levels refurbished, I'll rent them out and, hopefully, meet a lot of interesting people. I can't stay shut up with my computers and my work all the time. And it's not just this building that drew me in. It's all the small Mom-n-Pop stores all up and down this street. Why, my pet sitter is the daughter of the small grocery store owner down the street. Good kid, needs the extra credits for college and my girls have really taken to her. But... anyway, I'd gotten the four apartments on this floor all updated and ready to move into a few weeks ago. I took one of the front ones, because it gave me better access to the Bat Cave I wanted to build. And these back two... well, I gave one to David and the other to Sam and Aurelan."

"You gave them an _apartment_?" Jim asked in surprised.

"Yeah. David has that one," John pointed to the door on the same side as his apartment. Then he pointed to the opposite one. "Sam and Aurelan have that one. That way they can stay here anytime they and the kids need to come to the city. No more hotels. And that one, " John pointed to the one across the hall from his own door, "is under permanent co-ownership, between me and Tiberius and Horatio McKirk."

Jim traded stunned glances with Bones. "But, that's..."

"That's _too much_ , John," Bones protested. "We hardly ever get to come back to visit. And that space could be put to better--"

"There's _no_ better use than for family," John said with a shake of his head. "Plenty of room in the other three floors for strangers to move in. This way, when you do come, you can stay here and come and go as you please. And if I die, the building and the four owned apartments go to David, then you two, then Sam and his family. Depending on who's left by then. But this apartment is both of yours until you die, no matter who inherits the building. And you don't have to live in it. It's just for when you need it. If you want to live out of town when you retire, that's fine. This'll still be useful when you come into the city. And, besides," John shrugged. "I owe you two _everything_ for what this second chance has given me."

"John," Jim said with feeling, " _thank you_. This is the best!"

Jim gave John a hug. When they were done, John held out his arms to give Bones a hug as well.

"Now, come on in and have a look around," John said with a smile as he turned and walked to the door. "It's programmed to your prints. It's empty now, so you'll have to buy furniture and all that. I'll give you the dimensions in a bit, along with the ownership papers. You can go shopping on your vacation if you want, and have things delivered at any time."

"But what's with the names?" Bones asked, scrunching up his face in doubt. " _McKirk_?"

"Oh, it's legal. When you both retire, you don't have to go by those names. Its only for the public listing for _this_ place. Your real names are registered with the city and state agencies. And the taxes and utilities on these four units are paid through my account, so you don't have to worry about any extra costs sneaking up on you. I put the public listing under your middle names and the combination of your last names, so the news-vids wouldn't stake out the place. On Deneva, it's legal to use pseudonyms while you live here, as long as it's not for nefarious purposes, you're not running from the law on another planet or system, and you carry your real ID with you and present it on demand."

They came upon the door with the number 'A2' over the palm-plate and John stepped aside, looking anxious. "Try it out."

Bones was closer, so he set his palm on the plate and the door opened. They stepped inside.

"This is _huge_ ," Jim said with appreciation. The room was the size of John's and looked even bigger without furniture. The view from the one-way windows that looked out onto the busy street made the room feel welcome and homey, even without furniture or art on the walls. It was the same layout as John's rooms.

"Two bedrooms, one master and one guest. Two 'freshers and a nice view of the main street," John said with a smile, hands on hips as he looked around the bright, empty room. "And pets not only welcome, but I'm thinking of making them mandatory. Kids, pets or both, this place needs some life breathed back into it. Figure that's the way to do it, for both this old building and me."

"John, I don't know what to say." Jim walked around in wonder. "This is... just so _incredible_."

"Said it already," John said shyly. "Just make sure you come back safe once in a while, to use the place."

"We _will_ , John."

"And that's a _promise_ ," Bones said with feeling.

"I'll leave you to look around," John said, walking to the door. "I known David and Sam are anxious to give you a tour of their places."

When the door slid shut behind John, both Jim and Bones took a big breath as they looked around their new apartment. There was no question about accepting John's gift. He clearly had the credits to spare and would be hurt if they didn't.

_He's right. This is for him as well as for us. He wants us near, even if it's only now and again. I think we can live with that._

He looked at Bones and they shared the same, huge smile as they walked to each other. Jim put his arm around Bones's shoulder and Bones put his around Jim's waist as they surveyed the space in silence for a few moments.

_Our first home on Deneva._

"Well," Bones said after taking a huge breath, "guess we should start shipping things here from Luna. Empty out those storage lockers of ours."

"Absolutely," Jim agreed. "And we have just over ten days to not only visit but go furniture shopping as well."

"I don't know, Jim," Bones said with an exaggerated frown. "Think our marriage can stand that kind of pressure? Picking out furniture and decorations, then mixing in what we've already picked up? That's new and dangerous territory for us."

"I think I'm willing to take the risk of butting heads on design and style choices," Jim said, gravely. "If we're going to put our marriage through that kind of stress, might as well test it out early. If it can stand _that_ , it can stand _anything_."

Bones smiled and pulled Jim in for a quick kiss. "Besides, I think Horatio wants to get a bed in here, as soon as possible. Because he's anxious to break in their new home by getting fucked senseless on it by Tiberius."

"Tomorrow," Jim said with an evil grin. "Find one tomorrow. Immediate delivery."

Jim leaned in and put his lips against Bones's and whispered, "Welcome _home_ , love," before deepening the kiss.

_Welcome home to us both._

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks once again to my beta! 
> 
> I hope everyone enjoys this family reunion, and my game of "How many Karl Urban references can I get into my stories?" 
> 
> (A few more, it seems. ; )


End file.
